ELEMENTARY HISTORYOFTHE 
UNITED STATES 



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OUR GOVERNMENT 

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ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF 
THE UNITED STATES 



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SIBYL DUNN WARDEN, A. B. 

(MRS. S. R. WARDEN) 

Editor of School Herald 

Formerly German and Histonj Department 

High School, Oklahoma City 

Chair of German, Epworth Univenitij 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 



WARDEN COMPANY 

Oklahoma City 

1914 



L/-^' 



COPYRIGHT, 1914 

— BY — 

S. R. WARDEN 



SEP 14 1314 



>CI,A380365 



PREFACE 

In the preparation of this text-book the need of the child 
has been kept constantly in mind. It is not uncommon to find 
histories, intended for children, that contain much matter in a 
little space, while the child requires a little matter in much 
space. This book has been written with the thought of giving 
the child the proper perspective of our nation's history, and, 
with this thought in view, the important events have been 
told connectedly and in detail. Material unsuited to the un- 
derstanding of the child has been omitted. The old method 
of passing over the same subject two or three times in the 
grades, each time enlarging on the subject, has been avoided. 

This text is in harmony with the modern idea of the inter- 
pretation of events rather than a bald statement of facts. The 
European background has been kept in mind, and an intelli- 
gent and helpful use of this knowledge appears in appropriate 
places throughout the book. Proper emphasis has been placed 
on the importance of the development of the west and of the 
great Mississippi valley. Military details have been either 
omitted or lightly passed over, as the horrors of the battle-field 
are unsuited to the child that we would rear in the atmosphere 
of peace. 

The illustrations have been selected because of their his- 
torical and cultural value. Only those pictures that are helpful 
and inspiring have been introduced. The two colors by the 
duotype process have been employed, because a beautiful book 
in the hands of a child, one that he owns and handles every 
day, will have a greater influence for good upon his character 
than many pictures placed upon the walls. 

It is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to those 
who have assisted me by their helpful suggestions and criti- 
cisms. 

Sibyl Dunn Warden. 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 



TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS WHO 
ARE SOON TO LEND A HAND IN 
SHAPING THE FUTURE DESTINIES 
OP OUR COUNTRY, THIS BOOK IS 
DEDICATED. 



CONTENTS 

DISCOVERY 

rage 

The Veil Between the Oed World and the New 1 

Christopeier Columbus 5 

Columbus Seeking Aid 8 

The Preparation and Voyage 14 

The Discovery of the New World 20 

The Return 37 

The Arrival 30 

Other Voyages and Settlements 34 

The Last Voyage 38 

The Cabots 40 

Naming the New World 44 

EXPLORERS 

Ponce de Leon 47 

Ferdinand de Soto .-_ 50 

James Cartier 54 

Henry Hudson 59 



X Contents 

SETTLEMENTS 

Page 

Beginnings of Troubei]; in ConfIvICTing Claims Gi 

Sir Walter Raleigh 67 

First Permanent English Colony 77 

Captain John Smith 81 

First New England Colony 85 

King Philip's War di 

The Dutch in America 98 

William Penn 108 

The Last oe the English Colonies IIG 

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 

The Thirteen Colonies 1'20 

New France in America 129 

JoLiET and Marquette 133 

Robert de La Salle 138 

Threatened Conflict Between Fricnch and English l-tl 

The French and Indian War 153 

REVOLUTION 

The Growth of Independence 160 

The Stamp Act 163 



CoNTJiNTS XI 

Page 
Boston, tiii; Ci^ntf.r of Activitiks 169 

BivNjAMiN Franklin 176 

KrankIvIN in PiiiIvAdklphia 183 

The First Days of the Revolution 191 

Washington, Com aiander-in -Chief 198 

SISTERHOOD OF STATES 

How Our Government Was Formicd '318 

The Constitution Adopted 233 

George Washington, Our First President 22G 

EXPANSION 

Thomas Jefferson 235 

The Purchase of Louisiana 240 

Lewis and Clark Explore the New Territory 219 



The Beginning of the Second War with England. 



2--) 7 



How the War Was Managed 2')2 

Andrew Jackson 271 

Eli Whitney 275 

RoDERT Fulton 279 

Samuel F. B. Morse 282 

Remember the Alamo 287 

War with Mexico 292 



XII Contents 

WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 

Page 
Abraham Lincoln 300 

Confederate States of America 305 

-The Emancipation Proclamation 308 

Robert E. Lee 312 

Ueysses S. Grant 317 

NATIONAL PROSPERITY 

The Atlantic Cable 32J 

The Purchase of Alaska 337 

Trouble with Spain 330 

The Hawaiian Islands 338 

The Panama Canal 341 



MAPvS AND TLLITSTRATIONS 

Page 

Map of Caravan Routes 2 

The World as Then Known 3 

Christopher Columbus 5 

Columbus Before the Council of Learned Men 9 

Columbus Received by the Queen 11 

The Three Vessels 15 

Columbus on Board the "Santa Maria" 17 

The Landing 21 

The Route of Columbus 23 

Columbus Received by Ferdinand and Isabella 32 

Columbus in Chains 36 

Sebastian Cabot 42 

Americus Vespueius 44 

De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi River 51 

Descending the Mississippi River 53 

Cartier at Montreal 56 

Henry Hudson 59 

Henry Hudson at Manhattan Island <J0 

Last Voyage of Henry Hudson 61 

Boyhood of Sir Walter Raleigh 67 

Roanoke Island 70 

Jamestown 78 

Old Ruins at Jamestown _ 7ft 

Statue of Captain John Smith 81 

Building Homes at Jamestown 82 

Departure from Holland 85 

The "Mayflower" in the Harbor 87 

Signing the Compact 88 

Landing of the Pilgrims 89 

Going to Church 90 

Map of Plymouth 92 

King Philip 94 

Map of Dutch Settlement 98 

A Colonist in Armor 99 

Building Homes in New York 100 

Peter Stuyvesant 104 

William Penn 108 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians 113 

Spinning Flax 122 

An Early Meeting House 124 

Colonial Dame Who Was Fined for Absence from Church 125 

A Winter Scene in New France 129 

Map of the Great Northwest 130 

La Salle 138 



XIV Maps and Illustrations 

Page 
The Half-Kino- 146 

General Wolfe 156 

Shilling Stamp 163 

Stamp 164 

William Pitt 166 

Old South Church 172 

Benjamin Franklin 176 

Franklin's Press 185 

Flying a Kite . 186 

Drafting the Declaration of Independence 187 

Minuteman 191 

Paul Revere 's Ride 193 

Monument to Minutemen 194 

Monument and Bridge at Concord 195 

Independence Hall 199 

Washington Elm 200 

Washington's Headquarters 201 

Medal Given to Washington 203 

Liberty Bell 204 

Signing the Declaration of Independence 205 

Crossing the Delaware 206 

Washington's Camp Chest 207 

Surrender of General Burgoyne 209 

Marquis de Lafayette 210 

Paul Jones 211 

Francis Marion 212 

Surrender of Cornwallis 214 

Washington and His Generals 215 

Mount Vernon 216 

Map at Close of Revolution 217 

George Washington 226 

Washington on a White Horse 228 

Triumphal Arch 229 

Inauguration of Washington 231 

Washington's Chair 232 

Washington and Lafayette 233 

Thomas Jefferson 235 

John Adams 237 

D'lberville, First French Governor 240 

Don de Ulloa, First Spanish Governor 241 

Napoleon Bonaparte 242 

The Cabildo in 1792 244 

The Cabildo in 1914 245 

Wm. C. C. Claiborne 246 

Map of United States before Purchase of Louisiana 246 

Map of United States after Purchase of Louisiana 248 

Yellowstone Falls 250 

Meriwether Lewis 251 

William Clark 252 

Monticello 253 



Maps and Illustrations xv 



Fort Deaiboru 263 

The "Constitution" and "Guerriere" 265 

Andrew Jackson 271 

Eli Whitnej^ 275 

Robert Fulton 279 

The "Clermont" 280 

Samuel F. B. Morse 282 

The Alamo 288 

Map of Annexation of Texas 290 

Wiufield Scott 293 

Scott in the City of Mexico 296 

Map of the Newly Acquired Territory 299 

Abraham Lincoln 300 

Lincoln's Home at Springfield, Illinois 303 

Home of Jefferson Davis, Biloxi, Mississippi 306 

Reading the Emancipation Proclamation 309 

Robert E. Lee 312 

Lee on His Horse "Traveler" 315 

Ulysses S. Grant 317 

Grant's Birthplace 318 

Cyrus W. Field 321 

The "Great Eastern" at Heart's Content 325 

Mount McKinley 327 

Map of Alaska "_ 328 

The "Maine" entering Havana Harbor 331 

George Dewey 333 

Cuba Given the Protection of the United States 336 

The Culebra Cut, Panama Canal 342 



DISCOVERY 

THE VEIL BETWEEN THE OLD WORLD 

AND THE NEW. 

Our loved America, lying midway between Eu- 
rope and Asia, with tlie waters of the Atlantic 
lashing its eastern shore and those of the Pacific 
bathing its western shore, is the same continent 
that it was when no civilized man knew of its ex- 
istence. It is indeed strange how our country came 
to be found; but there is no myth connected with 
it as there is with many of the countries of the Old 
World. There is a reason why everything hap- 
pened just as it did. 

Many, many years ago, the people of the Old 
World used to get spices and jewels and silks from 
India by caravans; but in time the Turks became 
so powerful that they would not allow these pre- 
cious goods to be carried across their country; so 
the people of Europe were forced to seek some 
other way of reaching India. It was not then 
known whether the earth is really round or flat. 
Some said that if the earth were round and they 
should sail to the other side that they could never 
sail up again ; others feared that if it were flat that 



2 DiSCOVIiRY 

they might sail over its edge. All this seems strange 
to us now, since by sailing around the earth we 
have proved that it is round. 

Long before Columbus lived, there was a wise 
man who said, ' ' The world as known to us is reallv 




MAP OF CARAVAN ROUTES 



an island lying in the midst of the Atlantic. Prob- 
ably there are other similar worlds, some larger 
than ours, separated from it by the sea. ' ' But the 
people of the Old World were so busy with their 
wars and with their work in their own countries 
that they did not listen to the words of the wise 
old man. As the years passed, people became more 



The Old World and the New 3 

and more anxious to reach the eastern coast of 
Asia, and to carry back to their own country the 
treasures of far away India. There must be found 
a shorter route to India, and sailors were now^ will- 
ing to risk their lives to find it. All fears were 
now forgotten in the one desire to win the glory of 
finding this shorter way. 




THE WORLD AS THEN KNOWN 



4 Discovery 

SUGGESTIONS 

Locate on your map or globe the Old World. 
Why do we say that the waters of the Atlantic lash the 
shore, but of the Pacific we say the waters bathe the shore? 
Show how people used to go from Europe to India. 
Explain what caravan means. 
Who are meant by the Turks? 
Difficult words — continent, treasures, terror, civilized, myth. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

A waterway to India was sought because the people of 
Europe wanted to trade with the people of India, and the 
Turks would not allow them to go bv land. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
He Discoz'ered the New World and Knew It Not 

We are told that Christopher Columbus was fond 
of the water even when he was a small boy and 
that at fourteen years of age he began to sail on 
the sea. In his early boy- 
hood he helped his father 
at the wool combing busi- 
ness at Genoa in Italy, but 
later, he made his living 
by drawing charts and 
maps. When he was a 
young man he went to 
Portugal to live. 

At this time Prince 
Henry, the son of the king 
of Portugal, was greatly 
interested i n navigation. 

XT^ T, 1 -a J J 1 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 

lie had lounded a naval 

college and had secured the help of the most learned 
professors of navigation. It was not long until the 
Portuguese seamen became noted because of their 
long voyages, for they had been taught to use the 
compass and an instrument called the astrolabe by 
which they could tell how far they were from the 
equator by finding the height of the sun. Prince 




6 Discovery 

Henry believed that the eastern coast of Asia could 
be reached by sailing around the southern point of 
Africa, but he did not think that Africa extended 
as far south as it really does. It was not until after 
his death that a voyager, Yasco da Gama, reall}" 
did sail around the Cape of Good Hope. 

Prince Henry did so much for navigation that 
the discoveries of his seamen along the coast of 
Africa were the wonder of the world. He has been 
called the ]3rince who had ' ' the talent to do good. ' ' 
The great interest among the Portuguese in navi- 
gation only helped to encourage Columbus in his 
plans. His ideas differed from those of Prince 
Henry for he believed that he could sail directly 
west and reach eastern Asia. 

While Columbus lived at Lisbon, the Portuguese 
capital, he attended religious services at a little 
chapel where he met the lady. Dona Felipa, who 
afterwards became his wife. Her father had been 
a famous navigator under Prince Henry and all 
his charts were given to Columbus. In this way he 
had an opportunity to know what the Portuguese 
had done, but he was not inclined to copy after 
them for he had ideas of his own which he wanted 
to prove. 

He had eagerly read and studied about the world 
as it was then known, and he believed that only a 
short voyage to the west would bring him to the 
eastern shore of Asia. He felt that it was now his 



Chiustophkr Columbus 7 

duty to try to know the truth about the earth and 
the proposed shorter way to India. He was too 
poor to undertake it without help, so he decided 
to ask the ruler of some country to aid him; for 
truly it seemed to him an undertaking worthy of 
any king. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Locate on a globe or map the following countries : Italy, 
Portugal, Spain. 

Find the Cape of Good Hope; also find India. 

Show how the caravans used to go from India to Europe. 

Make a list of the articles that the caravans brought to the 
Black Sea. 

Difficult words — preparation, navigation, astrolabe, compass, 
encourage. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
The True Story of Christopher Columbus. — (Brooks.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Columbus when a boy helped his father. He was obedient 
to his parents. He was born near the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean and trained for the sea. 



COLUMBUS SEEKING AID 
He Offered to Kings the Discovery of a Nezv World 

While Columbus lived in Portugal he read what 
the ancients had written about geography, and made 
a careful study of the discoveries that had recently 
been made. You must remember that at that time 
they had printing presses, and the records, which 
had formerly been written by hand, were then be- 
ing printed and were being read by a greater num- 
ber of people. He read about the travels of Marco 
Polo, the famous Italian, who, two hundred years 
before, had journeyed through the countries of the 
far east and had visited at the palace of the great 
khan, or ruler of Tartary. The inside of this great 
palace shone with gold and silver, and in it were 
precious stones and beautiful vases. The khan's 
winter home was in the province of Cathay, which 
we now call a part of China. 

At last Columbus decided to seek help from King 
John II, who had recently become the king of Por- 
tugal. The king remembered the interest which 
his uncle, Prince Henrj^, had taken in the voyages 
along the shores of Africa. He called a council of 
the learned men of his country and sought their 
advice. He asked them whether he should con- 
tinue their old plan, or should adopt the new idea 



Columbus Seeking Aid 9 

which Columbus had of sailing directly west. The 
council did not approve of the new plan ; but King 
John still felt that there might be something 
gained by making the voyage as Columbus sug- 
gested. He was anxious that his country should 
have the glory of the new discoveries, but he was 




COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL, OF LEARNED MEN 



not willing to reward Columbus for making them. 
To show that he was still interested in the under- 
taking, he asked Columbus to give him the charts 
and the exact plan of the way that he intended to 
sail. Then, without telling Columbus, he sent out 
a vessel with secret orders to follow the wav Colum- 



10 Discovery 

bus had inaj^ped out. The men whom he sent did 
not have the courage and perseverance of Colum- 
bus, and, after they had sailed toward the west for 
a few days and had seen only a vast stretch of 
tumbling waves, they became discouraged and 
turned back. They laughed at the idea and said 
that it was unreasonable to think of finding land 
in those waters. Columbus was hurt when he 
learned that he had been deceived by the king, so 
he decided to leave Portugal. His wife having 
died, he took his little son and went to Spain. 

When Columbus reached Spain, he found it im- 
possible to get a hearing with the king and queen, 
Ferdinand and Isabella. They were busy directing 
their war against the Moors, and had no time to 
listen to the supposed idle dreams of a poor sea- 
man. While Columbus was waiting, he was busy 
explaining his plan to men who had influence with 
the king. At last Ferdinand decided to ask for the 
opinion of the most learned men in his kingdom 
and to be guided by their decision. 

Columbus met with these learned scholars. They 
tried to discourage him in his undertaking. They 
said that the distance around the earth was so great 
that it would require at least three years to make 
the voyage, and that it would be impossible to carry 
enough food to last that length of time. They even 
tried to make Columbus believe that it was wicked 
for him to try to find out the mysteries of nature. 



Columbus Skkking Aid 



11 



Many of his listeners were convinced by liis rea- 
soning, but they did nothing to help his cause with 
the king. 

The months slipped into years and still Colum- 
bus had not been told that he would receive the 
help which he so much desired. He decided that 
he would leave Spain and go to Prance. One 









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COLUMBUS RECEIVED BY THE QUEEN 



morning he stopped at a little convent named La 
Rabida near the town of Palos to ask for some 
bread and water for his little boy. They had been 
traveling on foot, for Columbus was now too poor 
to own even a mule. The prior of the convent was 
so impressed with the appearance and with the 
conversation of Columbus that he invited him to 



13 Discovery 

remain as Ms guest until he could send a letter to 
Queen Isabella. 

This Avas the beginning of better days for Colum- 
bus; for after fourteen days the prior received a 
reply from the queen asking him to come and to 
explain about Colmnbus and his plans. There was 
great joy at the little convent and the kind-hearted 
prior set out before midnight. On his arrival he 
told the queen all about Columbus, and how he 
might bring great glory to the Spanish crown. She 
then requested that Columbus should return; and 
she also sent him money enough to buy a mule for 
his journey, and some clothing suitable for him to 
appear before the king and queen. 

When Columbus returned he was received most 
graciously, but his troubles were not at an end; 
the king and queen were not willing to grant 
him all that he asked. He was thoroughly discour- 
aged but still determined. Taking leave of his 
friends, he mounted his mule and started for 
France. When his friends saw that he was really 
going to leave their country, they went to see the 
king and queen. They explained to Ferdinand 
and Isabella that the things which Columbus 
wanted were as nothing compared to the glory 
which his discoveries might bring to their country. 
Queen Isabella was deeply interested and said that 
she was willing to furnish money for this under- 
taking; but King Ferdinand thought that they 



Columbus Seeking Aid 13 

should wait until their kiugdom had recovered 
from the heavy expense of the war with the Moors. 
At last Queen Isabella thought of another way 
of raising the money; she said that she Avould 
pledge her jewels to raise the funds necessary for 
the enterprise. A messenger was sent to overtake 
Columbus and to tell him to return. He at first 
hesitated; but, on being told that the queen had 
given her positive promise, he turned his mule and 
rode back. He was so kindty received that it 
helped him to forget his disappointments, and an 
agreement was signed by Ferdinand and Isabella, 
giving him authority to make his voyage. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell what you can about Marco Polo. 
What countries had Columbus now visited? 
Who deceived Columbus? 

Tell the story of Columbus and his little boy. 
Difficult words — approve, perseverance, enterprise, mystery, 
discourage, disappointments. 

SOMETHING TO READ 

Story of Marco Polo. — (Noah Brooks.) 

Travels of Marco Polo for Boys and Girls. — (Knox.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Spain was the only country that helped Columbus. He 
waited years for that help. 



THE PREPARATION AND VOYAGE 
The Hope of Success Healed the Sufferings of the Past 

With a light heart Columbus immediately re- 
turned to the little convent at Palos. He called 
the people of this village together and one of the 
town officers read to them the order from the king 
and queen which provided for the expense of the 
voyage. This order also directed that the village 
of Palos get two vessels ready for sea within ten 
days, and turn them over, together with their 
crews, to Columbus. He was permitted to furnish 
the third vessel, which he did by the aid of his 
friends. It was no easy undertaking to find men 
who were willing to go with him on the unknowm 
waters of the Atlantic. The boldest seamen shrank 
from such a voyage. All kinds of frightful stories 
were told about the horrors of the sea. Men would 
not volunteer to go; so the king appointed an offi- 
cer to compel sailors to go with Columbus. In 
some cases criminals w^ere taken out of prison to 
go on the voyage. Martin Pinzon, who owned ves- 
sels, and had influence among the seamen, decided 
that he w^ould furnish one of the vessels. He be- 
came the commander of the vessel called the Pinta 
and persuaded manv of his friends to embark. 



14 



Preparation and Voyage 



15 



At last three small vessels were ready, the Santa 
Maria, Pinta, and Nina. Early Friday morning, 
August 3, 1492, after religious services, Columbus 
gave himself and his vessels to the guidance of 
Heaven. He then went on board the Santa Maria, 









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iilB^^Ste'i'i& M 







THE THREE VESSELS 



the only vessel which had a deck, and the three 
small vessels, with one hundred twenty persons on 
board, sailed ©ut of the harbor. The sea was full 
of terror to the men on board, and many of them 
wept as land faded from their sight. Columbus 
did not share in their fears, but was happy in the 
thought that he was now able to undertake to do 



16 Discovery 

that for whicli he had been striving during the 
past eighteen years. 

On the third day the Pinta gave the signal of 
distress, and they stopped for repairs at one of 
the Canary islands. They were detained there 
more than three weeks making a new rudder for 
the Pinta and changing the sails of the Nina. After 
they had taken on plenty of provisions and water, 
they again set sail, and soon every trace of land 
was lost to view. The seamen were now even more 
fearful than at first ; for they realized that every- 
thing that was dear to them lay behind them, and 
that only mystery and danger lay before them. 
Columbus did everything that he could to quiet 
their fears and to inspire and interest them. He 
even jjromised that he would reward them with 
gold and riches, for he believed that they would 
come to a rich country. He gave orders to the 
commanders that whatever happened, they should 
continue their course directly westward. 

On and on they sailed for more than thirty days, 
and still no sign of land. At last they noticed, hov- 
ering about the ships, a bird which they knew never 
ventured far from land. Twice they thought they 
saw land, but when they came nearer, they learned 
that what they thought was land was only an even- 
ing cloud. The sailors said that everything was 
different in this strange region, and that what 
would be considered a favorable sign on land, was 



Preparation and Voyage 



17 



here only au omen of some misfortune. The strong 
east wind, which had so steadily carried them west- 
ward, they said, would never change and their re- 
turn would soon be impossible. Their provisions 
were getting low, and 
their vessels were becom- 
ing weakened by the long 
voyage. 

They secretly agreed 
among themselves that 
Columbus was mad and 
that if they did not com- 
pel him to return, they 
would all be lost. When 
they told Columbus that 
they were determined to 
turn homeward and give 
up the voyage, he tried to 
quiet them with gentle 
words; but, when he saw 
they would not listen to his kind words, he told 
them he had been sent out by their king and queen 
to try to find the Indies, and that however much 
they might complain, they should keep on at their 
work until they came to land. 

On the very next day, even the most discouraged 
sailor believed that the}^ were near land; for they 
saw, floating in the water, a branch with berries 
on it, and it looked as if it had recently been a part 




COLUMBUS ON BOARD THE 
SANTA MARIA 



18 Discovery 

of a thorn tree. Great flocks of birds going to- 
ward the southwest passed over their ships. Co- 
himbus knew that the Portuguese had made many 
of their discoveries by following the flight of birds ; 
so he directed his vessels toward the southwest. 

All that day everyone was on the watch; and 
that evening, after they had sung their vesper 
hymn, Columbus talked to them and told them that 
it was probable they would reach land that very 
night, and that it would be unsafe for them to sail 
after midnight. To the one who first discovered 
land, he said he would give a silk doublet in addi- 
tion to the reward that King Ferdinand and Queen 
Isabella had promised. 

Everybody was full of expectation, and at sun- 
set they were plowing the waves at the rate of 
twelve miles an hour, with the Pinta in the lead ; 
for she could sail faster than the other vessels. 
About ten o 'clock Columbus thought he saw a glim- 
mering light ; but to be certain that he was not mis- 
taken, he called several of his crew, and they also 
saw the light. Columbus was now certain that 
they were near land and that people lived on it. 
Regardless of danger, they kept on in their course 
until two o'clock in the morning of October 12, 
when the Pinta gave the signal of land. A sailor 
on board the Pinta was the first to sight land ; but 
the reward was given to Columbus, because he was 
the first to see the light which was a certain sign 



Prkparation and Voyage 19 

of land. They took in their sails and waited for 
daylight, but not an eye was closed in sleep. The 
trackless ocean had been forced to give up her 
secret; but before them lay an even greater mys- 
tery than the mystery of the sea. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of how Columbus got ready for his voyage. 
Why did the sailors not want to make this voyage? 
How did they know when they were near land? 
Difficult words — provisions, rudder, omen, expectation. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Columbus. — (Joaquin Miller. ) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, to find a shorter way to 
India. He believed that he could sail west and find the rich 
cities of the east. 



THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD 
He Believed the New World Was a Part of India 

As morning dawned on Friday, October the 
twelfth, 1492, Columbus beheld the New World; 
but he did not know that the level island which lay 
before him was so near to a great unknown con- 
tinent. He thought it was one of the many islands 
off the eastern coast of Asia. He gave the signal 
to anchor their vessels and to prepare the small 
boats. Columbus, richly dressed in scarlet and car- 
rying the royal standard, entered his boat, while 
his captains, each carrying a banner of the green 
cross with an F. and a Y. and a crown over each 
letter, went with him in other boats. When they 
reached the land, which was beautiful with green 
foliage and rare fruits, he planted his standard, 
and with drawn sword took possession of tlie island 
in the name of Spain, naming it San Salvador. 

The men who had been so rebellious now crowded 
around him and asked him to forgive them. They 
promised that hereafter they would obey his orders 
without complaining. The natives of the island at 
first were afraid and ran to the woods; but they 
were so curious about these strange people that, 
when they realized that they would do them no 
harm, they came up to the Spaniards and touched 

20 



Discovery of the; New World 



21 



their hands and faces. They thought that these 
strange beings had sailed from the skies. Cohim- 
bus did not know what to call these natives, but he 
believed that this island was a part of India; so 
he called them Indians. 

Columbus was eager to learn all that he could 
about the newly found land, so he again entered his 




THE LANDING 



boat; but he did not know which way to go, for 
there were many islands in every direction. They 
were all green, and looked very fertile. He was 
sure that now he was among the islands that Marco 
Polo said lay near China. He named them West 
Indies, because by sailing west he believed that he 
Avas near India. 



22 Discovery 

He cruised about for several weeks and often 
stopped to explore an island: but he did not stay 
long in one place, for he wanted to see as much of 
the country as j)ossible. He was anxious to take 
a report of all that he had seen back to his sover- 
eigns, and especially was he eager to take back an 
abundance of gold, for he knew that this would 
please them most of all. They then came to the 
island of Cuba, and, being sure that he had at last 
reached Asia, he sent into the interior messengers 
who could talk in several languages, and also an 
Indian guide. These were to announce his arrival 
to the king of the land and to give him the letter 
which the sovereigns of Spain had sent. 

When the messengers came back, everyone 
crowded around to hear about the country and 
about the king to whose capital they had been sent. 
They said they had found a village of fifty houses, 
or booths, in which lived about a thousand people. 
The Indians thought they had come from heaven 
and they led them to their principal house and gave 
them chairs on which to sit. These chairs had been 
made from single pieces of wood in the form of 
animals. Then the natives seated themselves on 
the ground to listen to these men. They tried to 
talk to the natives, first in one language and then 
in another, but they could not understand; finally 
their Indian guide explained to them about the 
white men. 



Discovery of Tiiii: New World 



23 



After he had finished talking, to show how much 
the Indians thought of these wonderful beings, 
they crowded around them and even kissed their 
hands and feet. The messengers said that, when 
they started to go, they could hardly keep the In- 
dians from following them, for they wanted to go 
back to the skies with them. 




THE ROUTE OF COLUMBUS 



On their way back the messengers learned much 
about the country and what grew there. Columbus 
was now convinced that the king, to whom he was 
to deliver his letter, did not live here, so he decided 
to go in the direction where the natives said great 
quantities of gold might be found. 

On Christmas eve, Columbus lay down to sleep, 
for he had had no rest for two days and a night. 
The sea was very calm and the sailor in charge of 
the ship also went to sleep, leaving a boy to direct 



24 Discovery 

its course. As they were cruising along in shallow 
waters, the ship was carried upon a sand-bank. 
After the vessel struck, Columbus was the first to 
reach the deck. He gave orders to put down the 
little boats and to carry out and place an anchor. 
The men were so confused that they did not obey 
his orders, but went to the other vessel. Columbus 
soon saw that nothing could be done to save his 
vessel ; and both he and his crew went on board the 
Nina. Pinzon, the commander of the Pint a, had 
separated from Columbus and at this time Colum- 
bus did not know where he was. 

It is said that the Indian chief wept when he 
heard about the loss of the white man's ship. He 
sent men with canoes to help unload it. Columbus 
decided to build a fort out of the timbers of the 
wrecked vessel. 

When the fort was completed, thirty-nine men 
volunteered to stay in this newly found country; 
among them were a physician, a carpenter, a tailor, 
and a gunner. Columbus told them to obey the 
man whom he left in command. He warned them 
to keep together, and, above all, he cautioned them 
to be friendly and just with the natives; for the 
natives had been very kind to them when they were 
in distress. He gave them seeds to plant, and he 
left articles Avith which to buy gold from the In- 
dians. 



Discovery of the Nkw World 25 

In order that lie might prove to the Indians that 
these Spaniards were powerful, and that they could 
protect themselves and also defend their Indian 
friends, he ordered his men to show what they 
could do with their swords and cannons. They 
gave many drills and fired a ball which went 
through the sides of the old ship and far away 
over the water. 

Preparations for the return voyage were being 
rapidly made when an Indian came and explained 
that it was two days since he had left the Pinta in 
a harbor some distance to the eastward. In a few 
days Pinzon rejoined Columbus and after the sig- 
nal had been fired and the crews had given a part- 
ing cheer to their comrades, whom they were never 
again to see, the two frail vessels set out on their 
return to Spain. 



26 Discovery ^■^' . * ... 

SUGGESTIONS 

Where is San Salvador? 

Why did Columbus name the islands West Indies? 

Give a word picture of what he found. 

What did F and Y on the banner mean? 

Collect all the pictures of Columbus and his voyage that 
you can find. 

Write your own story of the people whom Columbus found. 

Difficult words — standard, rebellious, volunteer, comrades, 
cruise, sovereigns. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
The True Story of Christopher Colnmhus.— -(Brooks.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Columbus discovered a New World, but believed that it was 
a part of India. 



THE RETURN 

He Taught the Nations of the World the Way to America 

The trade-winds, which had been so favorable 
when they were sailing toward the west, were now 
equally unfavorable when they wanted to sail to- 
ward the east. When they had been out a little 
more than a month, a terrible storm came on, and 
the two vessels became separated. Columbus had 
signal lights placed on the masthead and at first 
the Pinta answered the signal by a similar light, 
but her lights grew dimmer and dimmer and soon 
nothing more could be seen of her. 

Columbus now feared that his discovery would 
never be known to the world. He therefore wrote 
out a brief description of his voyage and discovery, 
and sealed and directed it to the king and queen. 
After wrapping it in a waxed cloth, and placing it 
in the center of a cake of wax, he put it in a large 
barrel and threw this into the ocean. Then he fixed 
another record in the same way and fastened the 
barrel to the vessel so that, in case of ship-wreck, 
some one might find the history of his discovery on 
the wreck of the vessel. 

The first land that he reached on the return voy- 
age, was the most southern island of the Azores. 
These islands belonged to Portugal, and the king 

27 



28 Discovery 

of Portugal, being jealous lest Columbus might iu 
some way lessen the glory of the Portuguese dis- 
coveries, ordered that Columbus should be cap- 
tured wherever he might be found. 

Columbus gave everyone who talked with him to 
understand that he had been sent out by the sover- 
eigns of Spain, and that no one had a right to in- 
terfere with him. After he reached Portugal, King 
John summoned him, and on his arrival he was 
given a seat in the king's presence, an honor which 
was granted only to persons of high rank. 

The king listened to a minute description of all 
that Columbus had found, no doubt secretly re- 
gretting that the glory of this great discovery did 
not belong to his country. He offered to provide 
horses, lodging, and everything that he might need 
if he wanted to return to Spain by land; but Co- 
lumbus preferred to go in his own vessel. The next 
day Columbus put to sea, and at noon on March 
the fifteenth he arrived at the same harbor from 
which he had sailed. In a little less than seven and 
a half months, he had opened the way to the New 
World, a way which was soon to be followed by 
many navigators from other countries. 



The Return 29 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did Columbus guard his description so carefully? 

Where are the Azores? 

Can you explain why the king of Portugal was so interested 
in Columbus? 

Difficult words — trade-winds, masthead, summoned, descrip- 
tion. 

SOMETHING TO READ 

Children's Stories in American History. — (Wright.) 
The True Story of Christopher Columbus. — (Brooks.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Columbus opened the way to the New World. 



THE ARRIVAL 

The World Honors a Successful Man 

It was a great event in the history of Palos, as 
well as in the history of the world, when Columbus 
landed. Great crowds gathered to hear the news 
of the wonderful discovery. Bells were rung and 
all places of business were closed. The people 
formed a great procession and went to their princi- 
pal church to give thanks to God. Whenever they 
saw Columbus, they shouted and cheered. The way 
in which they now treated him was in great con- 
trast with the way in which they hissed him on the 
streets a few months before. Columbus immedi- 
ately sent a letter to the king and queen telling 
them of his safe arrival and stating that he was 
awaiting further orders from them. 

It is a strange event that the vessel, Pinta, 
which had been lost in the storm, should arrive in 
the harbor the same evening on which Columbus 
landed. Pinzon, the captain, had been driven by a 
storm to another bay, and, not knowing the fate of 
Columbus, had sent a letter to the king and queen 
telling them about the discoveries that he had 
made, and asking that he be allowed to come to 
court and tell them all about the voyage. As he 
afterwards sailed into the harbor at Palos, he saw 

30 



The Arrival 31 

the Nina and lieard the noise of the reception which 
was being given Cohimbiis, and the hope of telling 
his story to the king and queen was shattered. 

He did not go to Columbus and tell him how 
glad he was that he, too, had safely arrived, but he 
landed in his little boat and did not let anyone see 
him until Columbus had gone to see the king and 
queen. This man had spent a great deal of his own 
money in fitting out the vessels and had been of 
great help to Columbus, but he had forgotten that 
he must remain loyal to his commander. His sov- 
ereigns sent him a letter in which they reproved 
him for his conduct, and they w^ould not allow him 
to come to court. 

The fame of this great discovery s]3read through- 
out Spain. Columbus soon received a letter from 
the king and queen addressing him as ' ' Don Chris- 
topher Columbus, our Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 
and Viceroy and Governor of the Islands Discov- 
ered in the Indies." They told him in the letter 
how pleased they were and that they were anxious 
for him to appear at court. 

Cohmibus lost no time in complying with their 
wishes. As he came near Barcelona, great crowds 
of people came to meet him. He arranged a pro- 
cession similar to the ones which the Romans were 
accustomed to give in honor of their conquerors. 
First of all in this procession, were the Indians 
that he had brought with him, painted in their 



32 



Discovery 



gaudy colors and wearing their ornaments of gold. 
After these many kinds of live parrots were car- 
ried and also many specimens of wild and unknown 
animals. Many things that showed the wealth and 
resources of this newly found country were dis- 
played. Last of all, came Columbus on horseback, 




COLUMBUS RECEIVED BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA 



accompanied by a host of Spanish soldiers. The 
throne of the king and queen was in an open court 
imder a canopy of gold-cloth. 

In all this display Columbus was the central fig- 
ure, and he was noticeable because of his command- 
ing appearance and his gray hair. His face lighted 



The; Arrival 33 

up with a modest smile as he approached his sov- 
ereigns, and when he would have stooped to kiss 
their hands, they graciously gave him a seat at 
their side. He told them about his voyage and 
what he had found on the islands. When he had 
finished talking, the king and queen and all those 
present sank on their knees and gave thanks to 
God for the newly found country. During his 
stay, the highest marks of respect were paid him 
not only by the king and queen but even by the 
members of the court, who vied with each other to 
do him honor. 

SUGGESTIONS 

What do you think was the plan of the commander of the 
Pinta? 

Write a letter such as you suppose Columbus wrote to King 
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, 

Write their reply. 

Difficult words— procession, contrast, accustomed, concjueror, 
resources, canopy, commanding. 

SOMETHING TO READ 

Columbus and His Companions. — Higginson's "Young Folk 
Series," No. 1. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The return of Columbus to Spain was a great day in the his- 
tory of the world. He announced to the world the success of 
his voyage. 



OTHER VOYAGES AND SETTLEMENTS 
He Was a Discoverer But Not a Colonizer 

The king and queen were anxious for Columbus 
to arrange for another voyage. This he gladly 
consented to do. It was now easy to find people 
who were not only willing but anxious to go with 
him. Columbus made not only the second voyage, 
but also the third and the fourth. He found many 
more islands, but he never reached any part of 
what is now the United States. He touched the 
coast of South America and of Central America, 
but he was disappointed because he did not find 
the rich countries of the Orient. He did not real- 
ize that he had really found a New Continent of 
greater value than what he had been seeking. 

The colony planted by Columbus on the island 
of Haiti, or as he called it, "Espanola", meaning 
"Little Spain," was unsuccessful; for the men 
either had been killed by the Indians or had been 
stricken by disease. Other men, eager to find gold, 
or filled with the spirit of adventure, had come as 
colonists. Columbus, who had had such wonderful 
success as an explorer, was unsuccessful with his 
colonies. He felt that, in order to please his sov- 
ereigns, he must find gold ; so he bent every energy 
to find the precious metal. The sovereigns did not 

34 



Other Voyages and Settlements 35 

want to wait to develop the new country, but they 
kept demanding that Columbus send more gold. 
A part of the first gold which was sent to Spain 
was used by the king to gild the ceilings of the 
royal palace. 

The colonists were discontented and unhappy, 
and kept continually sending complaints to the 
king and queen. At last Ferdinand and Isabella 
sent an officer to investigate the affairs on the 
island; for a part of the colony was now in open 
rebellion against the authority of Columbus. As 
soon as the officer arrived, without making any in- 
quiry, he ordered his men to seize Columbus and to 
put him in chains. Even the enemies of Columbus 
were horrified at such harsh and cruel treatment. 

When the commander of the ships came to 
take him on board, Columbus inquired, ''Villejo, 
whither are you taking me?" "To the ship, your 
excellency, to embark." "To embark!" repeated 
Columbus, ' ' Ville j o do you speak the truth ? " " By 
the life of your excellency, it is true." Columbus 
now hoped that his life would be spared to explain 
everything to the king and queen. 

The master of the ship was kind to Columbus 
and wanted to remove his chains, but Columbus 
would not allow them to be taken off; he said that 
they had been put on by the authority of his sover- 
eigns and that by their authority only should they 
be removed. He said that he would always keep 



36 



Discovery 



them as relics and memorials of tlie reward of his 
services. 

As soon as Columbus reached Spain, the news of 
his arrival as a prisoner and in chains created al- 
most as great a sensation as the news of his dis- 
covery. Everybody was 
shocked, and even his ene- 
mies thought that he 
should not be so cruelly 
treated. The king and 
queen ordered his chains 
removed and invited hmi 
to come to court. They 
said that the officer whom 
they had sent had acted 
without their authority, 
and they promised Colum- 
bus that all of his honors should be restored to him. 
It is believed that Queen Isabella was sincere 
and that she really wanted to allow Columbus to 
return as governor of the island; but King Ferdi- 
nand was not so inclined. He was selfish, and he 
thought that he had already given too much honor 
and reward to Columbus for his discovery. He 
removed the officer who had been so cruel to Colum- 
bus, but he did not restore Cohmibus to his old 
position. He placed another man in authority, and 
told Columbus that in a short time he should re- 
turn to his colon V. 




COLUMBUS IX CHAIXS 



Other Voyages and Settlements 37 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella want Colum- 
bus to make another voyage? 

What had Columbus really been seeking? 

What kind of man do you think King Ferdinand was? 

Putting chains on Columbus had what effect upon the peo- 
ple? 

Why did Columbus refuse to have his chains removed ex- 
cept by the authority of his sovereigns? 

Difficult words — Orient, adventure, authority, memorial. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Ferdinand and Isabella. — {JVasJiington Irving.) 



THE LAST VOYAGE 
He Did Not Find a Shorter Way to India 

Although Columbus was waiting to be restored 
as governor of the island, yet all the while he was 
planning for his fourth and last voyage. He re- 
membered that when he was in the Carribbean Sea 
that the ocean currents were very strong, and he 
believed that this showed that there might be an 
o^Dening into the Indian Ocean. His last voyage 
was therefore made in the belief that he could find 
a strait through which he might sail to the long 
sought shores of Cathay. He reached what we now 
call the Isthmus of Panama, but he did not know 
that such a narrow neck of land separated him 
from the waters of the Pacific. 

Columbus returned to Spain broken in health. 
On the death of Queen Isabella, which occurred 
soon after his return, hope died within hira ; for it 
was only through her that he believed he would 
ever he rewarded for his services. King Ferdi- 
nand withheld from Columbus the just incomes 
which would have relieved him from petty annoy- 
ances, but the king could not withhold from him 
the glory of the great discoveries. In 1506, Cohim- 
bus died, a poor and heart-broken man. He never 

38 



The Last Voyagk 39 

knew that he had discovered a new continent, equal 
in size to the then known world. 

Columbus was first buried in Spain; but after 
thirty years he was removed to a cathedral in the 
city of San Domingo. The remains of this man of 
energy were not yet to rest in peace ; for about two 
hundred years later, the island of Haiti was trans- 
ferred to France, and they were taken to Havana 
in Cuba. When Spain was compelled, by the 
United States, to give up her authority in Cuba, 
they were again taken up and carried back to 
Spain to find their resting place in the country he 
had honored. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Where was Cathay, and why did Columbus want to go there? 

What made Columbus believe that there was a strait which 
would allow him to pass into, what he believed, the Indian 
Ocean ? 

Tell the story of his last voyage. 

Write a story of Columbus using the following topics : 

1. When and where he lived. 

2. What he wanted to do. 

3. How he planned to do it. 

4. What he did. 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Columbus had reached the coast of South America, but still 
thought it was a part of India. 



THE CABOTS 
First Discoverers of North America 

It is a strange fact that Italy was the native 
home of the three great navigators who first 
planted the flags of discovery on the shores of the 
New World. It is even more to be wondered at, 
that neither of these men sailed under the Italian 
flag. Columbus, who was born at Genoa, Italy, 
sailed under the Spanish flag ; Americus Vespucius, 
of whom we shall soon learn, was a native of Italy, 
but lived in Spain when he made his voyages to 
the newly found land ; and John Cabot, the last of 
the group, although born in Genoa, and reared in 
Venice, made his discoveries under the flag of En- 
gland, for he had also left his native land, and 
made his home at Bristol, England. 

Cabot had sailed on the waters of the Mediter- 
ranean, and had watched the arrival of the cara- 
vans from India laden with precious silks and 
spices. He had also sailed upon the waters of the 
Atlantic to the British Isles and had then crossed 
the icy waters to Iceland. He was one of the great- 
est seamen of his time, and also believed that the 
countries of the distant east might be reached by 
sailing toward the west. When he heard of the 
success of Columbus, he was more eager than ever 

40 



The Cabots 41 

to make a voyage; lie thought tliat he might find 
land as rich and beautiful as that which Columbus 
had discovered. He secured permission from King 
Henry VII to make the vo^-age, with the under- 
standing that one-fifth of all that he gained was 
to be paid into the king's treasury. 

John Cabot set out with one small vessel, the 
Matthew. His voyage was very different from that 
of Columbus; although he kept his course toward 
the west as Columbus had done, he soon crossed 
the warm waters near the British Isles and passed 
into the waters where floated great, glittering ice- 
bergs. The first land which he reached he named 
"Prima Vista," meaning ''first seen." It was 
either the island that we now call Newfoundland 
or the mainland on the coast of Labrador. He 
planted the English flag, and by its side he placed 
the banner of Venice. 

It was now midsummer ; but he did not find beau- 
tiful flowers and waving forests, although he was 
farther south than Merry England. Cabot thought 
that it was a part of the long dreamed of Cathay. 
He learned that there were a great many bears and 
that they found their food by diving into the water 
and catching the fish. In that region the fish were 
so numerous that they often hindered the vessels in 
sailing. Cabot took home with him some of the 
snares which the natives had set to catch game, and 
also a needle for making nets. After coasting 



42 



Discovery 



along the shore for several hundred miles, he de- 
cided to return home. 

Cabot reached England after having been gone 
a little more than three months. The king received 
him with great pomp, and we find in his private 
records this entry : ' ' For him that found the new 
isle, ten pounds." The king could have afforded to 
pay him generous^, for to John Cabot belongs the 
honor of being the first real discoverer of the main- 
land of the New World. Columbus had found the 
islands of the West Indies five years before this 

time, but he did not reach 
the mainland of South 
America until about four- 
teen months after the land- 
ing of John Cabot. 

Just when or where 
John Cabot died, is un- 
known. We know^, only, 
that his son, Sebastian, 
took up his work and con- 
tinued the search after the 
new and unknown lands. 
He landed on the bleak 
and frozen coast of Labrador. It was the month of 
July and there were so many icebergs in the 
water that he was forced to change his course. He 
turned his vessels southward and explored the 
coast as far south as Cape Hatteras on the coast 




SEBASTIAN CABOT 



The Cabots 43 

of what is now North Carolina. Through these 
efforts, he gave to England the right to a vast 
stretch of territory. He was greatly honored by 
the English, and a monument to his memory has 
been erected at Bristol, England. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of how the Cabots found America. 
Under what flag did they sail? 
Where is Newfoundland? 

What did they call the first land which they found? 
Why did explorers always want to take something home 
with them? 

Difficult words — hesitate, permission, perpetual. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Higginson's "Young Folk Series," No. 2. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

John Cabot sailed directly west from England and reached 
the coast of North America fourteen months before Columbus 
reached the coast of South America. 



NAMING THE NEW WORLD 
The Honor Not Given to the True Discoverer 

Americus Vespucius was born and brought up in 
Florence, Italy, and, like Columbus, went to live 
in Spain. He was a merchant, and it was his pur- 
pose to regain a lost for- 
tune. After he went to 
Spain he helped to fit out 
many vessels that were 
sent to the newly found 
lands. He himself made 
several voyages, and, on 
one of the first, he touched 
the mainland of South 
America. A few years 
later he made another voy- 
age, and, on his return, he 
made a map and published 
an account of the country he had seen and called it 
the "New World." He was the first to make the 
mass of the people of Europe understand that the 
new discovery was a new continent and not a part 
of India. 

The year after the death of Columbus, a teacher 
of geography, named Waldseemuller, published a 
little book called ' ' Introduction to Geography. ' ' It 

44 




AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 



Naming the; New World 45 

contained a description of the New World as dis- 
covered by Americus Vespucius. This was a sub- 
ject in which all classes of people were interested. 
He stated that, since both Europe and Asia had 
taken their names from women, he saw no reason 
why this country explored by Americus Vespucius, 
should not be called the land of Americus, or Amer- 
ica, since the names of both Europe and Asia were 
in the feminine form. This name, changed to 
America, was gradually placed on maps and charts 
and the public became familiar with it, little think- 
ing that by its use the true discoverer was being 
robbed of the glory of the name. 

We have no record that Columbus ever tried to 
attach his name to any of his discoveries; but all 
countries give him the credit of being the real dis- 
coverer. In poetry and in song we shall always 
think of this new discovery as ' ' Columbia, the Gem 
of the Ocean." 



46 Discovery 

SUGGESTIONS 
Write or tell a story about naming the New World, using 
the following topics : 

1. Americus Vespiicius. 

2. How the name America came to be used. 

3. What do you think the name should be? 



SOMETHING TO READ 
America's Godfather. — {Virginia Johnson.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Commit to memory a stanza of "Columbia, the Gem of the 
Ocean." 



EXPLOEERS 

PONCE DE LEON 
The Discoverer of Florida, tlie Laud of Ploivers 

It is almost impossible for us to understand what 
the nations of the Old World thought about this 
strange land. It is somewhat as if we were to try 
to explain about a continent in the moon, except 
that in those days a few explorers had actually 
reached this continent. What it was, or how large 
it was, or what were its resources, they could not 
tell. These are questions that, as yet, have not been 
fully answered, for many of the great possibilities 
of North and South America are still unknown. 

For more than a hundred years, the countries of 
Europe continued to send explorers to this conti- 
nent. These explorers marched through the lux- 
uriant vegetable growth of the south; they sailed 
up the great rivers; they crossed the Isthmus of 
Panama and waded into the waters of the Great 
Sea; the}^ climbed the mountains; and they ven- 
tured far into the fur bearing regions of the north. 
Everywhere they went, they claimed for their own 
country the land that they exj^lored, but the great 
interior was still unknown. 

Ponce de Leon was one of these explorers. He 
had sailed Avith Columbus on his second voyage 

47 



48 Explorers 

and at one time lie was governor of Porto Rico. He 
was a true Spaniard and fond of adventure, but 
there was something which influenced him more 
than the Spaniards' greed for gold. It was a de- 
sire to drink from the fountain of youth. This 
fountain of never-failing running water was sup- 
posed to be on an island somewhere north of Cuba. 
It was said that whoever bathed in this fountain 
and drank of its waters would have his youth given 
back to him. 

Ponce de Leon fitted out three vessels and went 
in search of this magic fountain. He sailed among 
the Bahama islands, and one day, Easter Sunday, 
March 27, 1513, he came to a strange shore, which 
he thought was an island. He seemed to have 
reached the land of flowers and of eternal summer. 
He named it Florida, because he had discovered it 
on Easter Sunday, which the Spaniards called 
Pasqua Florida, the feast of flowers, and because 
it seemed to him a land of flowers. 

On his return the king of Spain made him gov- 
ernor of this land, and in a few years he came back 
to plant a colony. The Indians did not want the 
Spaniards to come into their country; they made 
war on the Spaniards when they tried to land. 
Many Spaniards were killed and Ponce de Leon 
was wounded by an arrow. He was taken to Cuba, 
where he died, never having learned that the foun- 
tain of youth which he sought was not to be found. 



PoNCis Di; Leon 49 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why was Florida called the land of flowers? 
Of what importance was it to the Spaniards? 
Difficult words — explorer, luxuriant, magic, Bahama, re- 
sources. 

SOMETHING TO READ 

Children's Stories in Americari History. — Pages 71-75. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Ponce de Leon discovered Florida, but he did not find the 
fountain of youth. 



FERDINAND DE SOTO 
The Discoverer of the Mississippi River 

Ferdinand de Soto was born in Spain, of a noble 
family, bnt his parents were too poor to send binj 
to school. One day a wealthy nobleman saw him 
and was so pleased with his appearance that he 
adopted him and educated him as though he were 
his own son. De Soto spent six years at a Spanish 
university and took many prizes at their contests. 
He had read so much about the wonderful discover- 
ies in the New World that he determined that he, 
too, would win honor and fame. He sailed with 
the nobleman who had helped him to get an educa- 
tion. For fifteen 3^ears he traveled over this con- 
tinent exploring the country and visiting the In- 
dian tribes. When he returned to Spain, he was 
received with great honor, for his deeds of bravery 
and his great discoveries were told throughout the 
land. 

He married the daughter of the man who had 
been so kind to him when he was a boy. A few 
years after his marriage, the king appointed him 
governor of Cuba and Florida, and gave him per- 
mission to explore the country. In the early spring 
of the year 1538, he sailed from Spain with a fleet 
of ten vessels. Times had changed since the days 

50 



Fe;rdinand Die Soto 



51 



of Columbus ; for De Soto had so many people that 
wanted to go with him that his ships would not 
hold them. He selected six hundred men of noble 
birth. They took with them two hundred twenty- 
three horses and everything necessary for an ad- 
venture into the New World. They landed first at 




DE SOTO'S DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 

Havana, where De Sota left his wife to govern the 
colony until he should return. He then went to 
Tampa bay. 

When these j^'oung noblemen saw the dense for- 
ests, and realized what it really meant to be ex- 
plorers, a few of them became frightened and 
turned back. De Soto, however, was undaunted, 



52 Explorers 

and, with the greater part of his men, he set out to 
learn more about the interior. Their wanderings 
cover a period of four wretched years. The jour- 
ney took them through many of the southern states, 
and extended eA^en as far north as Hot Springs, 
Arkansas. 

De Soto, in his search for gold, found the great 
Mississippi river. In the Indian language the 
name means "Father of Waters." The Indians 
had named it better than they knew, for it is the 
longest river in the world. For ages this great 
river had carried the waters of a vast inland region 
to the gulf, but no civilized man had ever before 
looked upon its mighty waters. 

De Soto pressed forward Avith his explorations, 
and he was often attacked by hostile Indians. The 
climate was unhealthful, and the long marches with 
not enough food and shelter had weakened his 
health. He was finally taken sick with a fever ; and, 
when he knew that he could not live, he called his 
faithful soldiers to him, and, bidding them fare- 
well, he asked them to love and to help each other. 
In order that the Indians might not find his body, 
his soldiers wrapped it in shaAvls loaded with sand, 
and in the darkness sank it in the river. 

The few men who remained built boats and 
plugged the crevices with the bark of mulberry 
trees. In these boats they sailed down the Missis- 



FERDINAND DiC SoTO 



53 



sippi to the gailf and after many hardships reached 
a Spanish settlement. Thus ended a pioneer effort 
at inhmd exploration. 




DESCENDING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 

SUGGESTIONS 
Give a word picture of De Soto's journey and of what he 



saw. 



Difificult words — permission, undaunted, interior, pioneer. 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
De Soto was the first to explore the great interior. 



JAMES CARTIER 
TJw Discoverer of the St. Lawrence River 

James Cartier, a French hero, was born at St. 
Malo, France, two years after the discovery of the 
New World was made by Cohnnbus. His ancestors 
had been men of the sea, and the people of the town 
in which he lived were largely engaged in a sea- 
faring bnsiness. It was as natural for him to live 
on the water as it is for ordinary people to live on 
the land. In the town hall at St. Malo, may be seen 
his picture which is greatly prized by the peoi)le of 
that place. 

The stories told by the Cabots of the great quan- 
tities of codfish found in the northern waters, were 
retold in France. Although the king was slow to 
realize the importance of the discoveries in the New 
World, nevertheless, in 1534 he selected Cartier to 
undertake a voyage. 

Accordingly, Cartier sailed from St. Malo with 
two small vessels and reached the coast of New- 
foundland. On this voyage he did little more than 
sp5^ out the places that he expected later to explore. 
He crossed the Gulf of St. Lawrence and saw the 
mouth of a great river. This river was so wide 
that he could scarcely see across it. Wherever he 
landed, he planted a cross bearing the fleur-de-lis, 

54 



Jam US C ARTIER 55 

the flower of France. He was not prepared to en- 
dure a northern winter; so, taking with him two 
natives as proof of his discovery and also that they 
might learn the French language and act as inter- 
preters, he returned home and told of his discov- 
ery. 

It was still believed that a northwest passage to 
Asia might be found, so the next year Cartier re- 
turned to the New World, taking with him the two 
Indians that he had carried to France. It was 
midsummer when he reached an island near New- 
foundland, and he said that there were so many 
birds on this island that they would not have been 
missed if he had filled his ships with them. 

After he had thoroughly explored the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, he sailed up the river. The natives 
tliat he found were very kind to him and his party, 
but they did not want him to go farther up the 
river. The two natives that he had taken with him 
the year before explained to him what the Indians 
said. One day the two Indians who had been in 
France, slipped away from him and joined their 
own people. They could never be induced to re- 
turn; because, they said, all of the Frenchmen 
carried weapons, and they themselves had none. 

The Indians tried to keep the French from as- 
cending the river which Cartier named the St. 
Lawrence. They brought gifts of fish and eels and 



56 



EXPLORKRS 



even offered to give their cliildren if Cartier would 
not go to their village called Hochelaga. One day 
three Indians dressed themselves in black and 
white dogs' skins, blackened their faces, and pnt 
horns on their heads. The Indians placed these 




CARTIER AT MONTREAL 



men in a canoe and hid themselves in the woods. 
As soon as the canoe came near the French vessel, 
the men stood up and one of them made a long 
speech, but he did not once look at the white men. 
When the canoe floated toward the land, the In- 
dians rushed out of the woods and caught it, and 
thev carried into the woods the three men who had 



Jamks CartuvR 57 

fallen down as if dead. Cartier and his men could 
]iear them talking. After a long time the two In- 
dians Avho had been with them in France came to- 
ward them, holding their hands above their heads. 
Cartier asked them what had happened. They 
spoke in French and said, " It is not good. ' ' Then 
they explained that their god at Hochelaga had 
sent these three men to tell that there was so much 
snow and ice in that country that whoever ven- 
tured there would surely die. Cartier laughed at 
them and told them that he had been assured of 
fair weather. At this, they seemed much pleased 
and began dancing and singing. 

Cartier reached Hochelaga, a village of the 
Huron Indians, the second of October. The In- 
dians were friendly and invited the white men to 
their land. The village consisted of about fifty 
huts and all around it were fields of ripened corn. 
Cartier climbed a lofty hill which lay back of the 
village and named it Mont Keal. It is upon this 
hill that the city of Montreal was afterwards built. 

Cartier learned from the Indians that the river 
which he called the St. Lawrence flowed from lakes 
so large that it would take three months to cross 
them in their canoes. The Indians also told him 
that there was a place w^here the water poured over 
in a great waterfall. 

Cartier found that there was copper in this reg- 
ion, but he found no trace of either gold or silver. 



58 Explorers 

He named this country New France and remained 
two years in this region. At last, worn out with 
hopeless adventure, he returned home. It was 
more than fifty years before a successful colony 
was planted in New France. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why is the story of Cartier important? 

Which explorer do you hke best? 

What is the name of the flower which France placed on 
her banner? 

Who is an interpreter? 

Of what lakes is the St. Lawrence the outlet? 

Difficult words — ancestors, interpreter, induced, weapons, 
consist, adventure. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Baldwin's "Discovery of the Old Northwest." 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Cartier explored the St. Lawrence in 1534. At that early 
date he found traces of copper. This metal proved to be a 
ereat source of wealth to this section of North America. 



HENRY HUDSON 
The Discoverer of the Hudson River 

Henry Hudson was an English seaman of great 
daring. He believed that a passage to Asia could 
be found through the icy waters of the northern 
seas. His early voj^ages were made ])y the author- 
ity of England; but as he 
did not find either a north- 
eastern or a northwestern 
passage to India, England 
refused to give him any ^ ^^^'^^'^Y^^ 
f u r t h e r assistance. He 
went to Holland and ob- 
tained from the Dutch 
East India Company the 
help which he needed. He 
was given a vessel called 

,. T^ Tj. -nr T HENRY HUDSON 

the Half -Moon, manned 

by eighteen sailors, and was told that he could con- 
tinue his search for a waterway to India. 

In the spring of 1609 he sailed on the seas north 
of Europe ; but finding that it was impossible to sail 
in these waters on account of the huge icebergs, he 
turned his vessel toward the west and reached the 
coast of Newfoundland. Here he stopped to re- 
pair his ship, which had been broken by the ice- 

59 




GO 



ExPI,ORERS 



bergs. From this place he went toward the south 
and landed at Cape Cod bay; then he continued his 
southern route until he reached Chesapeake bay. 

Hudson never lost his desire to find a waterway 
to India ; and as he retraced his course, he watched 
carefully for the mouth of some large river on 




HENRY HUDSON AT MANHATTAN ISI-AND 

whose waters he might possibly sail to the great 
Pacific Ocean. He explored the Delaware bay and 
sailed along the coast of New Jersey. The Half- 
Moon passed around a low '^ Sandy Hook" and an- 
chored at a safe inlet. Here, as everywhere that 
he landed, he was met by great numbers of Indians, 
who brought their gifts of Indian corn, fruits, and 



Henry Hudson 



61 



furs. Boats were sent out to explore New York 
bay. 

The Half -Moon now passed into the inner har- 
bor. Before them lay a beautiful, wooded island. 
They little dreamed that on this very island was 
to be built the larorest 




city of the wester n 
continent, the next to 
the largest city of the 
world. For several 
days he ascended the 
river that flows into 
this harbor. He 
reached a point near 
where the city of Al- 
bany now stands. He 
found the river be- 
coming narrower and 
more shallow and b}^ 
sending a boat farther 
up the stream, he became convinced that he had 
gone as far as he could in his ship. 

Hudson decided to carry to Holland the news of 
his discoveries. He stopped at Dartmouth, En- 
gland, where both he and his crew were held as 
Englishmen. He was allowed to send a report of 
his discoveries to Holland, and the next year the 
Half -Moon was returned to its owners. 

Hudson could not give up his dream of a north- 



LAST VOYAGE OF HENRY 
HUDSON 



62 Explorers 

west passage, and yet the coast had been carefully 
explored from Florida to Maine without finding- 
one. He felt that it must be far to the north, pos- 
sibly between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Green- 
land. In the summer of 1610, he again sailed with 
the vision of the Indies as his guide. This time 
he carried the English flag, for some merchants of 
England had fitted out his vessel, the Discovery. 
He reached the strait which now bears his name, 
and sailed into an open ba}^ which promised to open 
the way to Cathay. He spent three months in try- 
ing to find a passage out, but none could be found. 
Winter had now set in and he could go no far- 
ther ; for his ship was frozen in the ice. The priva- 
tions of that long and desolate winter were never 
told by him ; for in the spring, as soon as the vessel 
could sail, the crew broke into mutiny. They 
seized Hudson and his son and seven others who 
had remained loyal to him, and placed them in a 
boat and cast them adrift. Nothing more was ever 
heard of the man who had done so much to increase 
the geographical knowledge of the world. 



Hknry Hudson G3 

SUGGEvSTIONS 

Tell in your own words the story of Henry Hudson. 
Of what vahie were the discoveries of Hudson? 
What is the name of the largest city on the western conti- 
nent ? 

What countries sent out explorers ? 

Difficult words — authority, assistance, mutiny. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Hudson believed that he could find a waterway to India by 
going to the north. He discovered the Hudson river and the 
bay which bears his name. 



SETTLEMENTS 

BEGINNINGS OF TROUBLE IN CONFLICTING 
CLAIMS 

St. Augustine, the Oldest Tozvn in the United States 

Many years passed from the time Columbus first 
touched the shores of the West Indies until perma- 
nent Spanish settlements were made in the terri- 
tory now known as the United States. The Span- 
iards wanted to own everything tliat their explor- 
ers had seen, and thus it hajDpened that they 
claimed the southern part of our country. You 
will remember that it has been said that ' ' the cack- 
ling of geese saved Rome." Just as truly might 
it be said that the flight of birds saved this country 
from becoming Spanish territory. If Columbus 
had not followed the birds flying toward the south- 
west, he would have landed somewhere on the east- 
ern coast of the United States; but by turning to 
the southwest the claims for Spanish settlement 
were confined to the southern part. 

The maps of this country at that time were 
very imperfect ; under the name of Florida, Spain 
claimed the eastern coast as far north as the Chesa- 
peake bay, and the territory west even beyond the 
Mississippi river. The territory clamied by tlie 

64 



Troubles In Conflicting Claims 65 

English overlapped the Spanish claims in the south, 
and the French claims in the north. You will re- 
member that the French claimed what we now call 
Canada, because Cartier discovered the St. Law- 
rence river. They also claimed northern Florida 
and Louisiana. The Dutch claimed the land lying 
between the Delaware and the Connecticut rivers, 
because of the discoveries of Henry Hudson. The 
colonists who came to settle on these lands were 
loyal to their own countries, and we shall learn 
later how their differences were settled. 

The first Sj)anish settlement was made near the 
mouth of the St. John's river in eastern Florida. 
A colony of two thousand five hundred persons, ar- 
rived on August 28, 1565. In honor of the day of 
their arrival, they named the place St. Augustine. 
As soon as they landed, they sent soldiers to de- 
stroy a French settlement which was not far away. 
This is only one of the many cruel things which 
the Spaniards did in order that they might hold 
this country for Spain. It would seem to us that 
there was plenty of room on this great continent 
for both colonies, but Spain was selfish and did not 
want France to get a foothold here. They built a 
fort, triangular in shape, and mounted on this the 
bronze guns which they had brought from Spain. 
Many people are interested in visiting St. Augus- 
tine, for it is the oldest town in the United States. 



66 StrrhtMrnrs 

■ SUGGESTIONS 

Find on your map the West Indies. 

Where do you think Columbus would have landed if he had 
not turned to the southwest? 
Where is Chesapeake bay? 

Where is St. Augustine, and what do you know about it? 
Difficult words — settlement, triangular, overlapped. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
St. Augustine is the oldest town in the United States. 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 
The Man IVIio First Tried to Make America a Homeland 

Sir Walter Ealeigh, the pioneer of English set- 
tlers, takes us in our thought to the picturesque 
country of Devon in the southern part of England. 




BOYHOOD OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH 

Just outside of a village and in full view of the 
Otter river, stands an old weather-beaten farm- 
house. Here Walter Raleigh lived with his par- 
ents. While he was a young boy, he listened to the 

67 



68 Si;ttle;me;nts 

stories of adventure as told by brave seamen, and 
dreamed that sometime he, too, would have some- 
thing to do with the wonderful discoveries of which 
they told. 

When Raleigh was fifteen years of age, he was 
prepared to enter college, and he left his old home 
to form a new circle of friends at Oxford. The 
room which he occupied is still pointed out as the 
one used by the great Sir Walter. He entered into 
the life of the school and soon became a leader 
among his classmates. His school career was all 
too short, and after many years of daring adven- 
ture, he became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's 
court. 

It is said that his coming into notice in court life 
happened in a most natural way, and yet almost 
as if by accident. One day the queen, attended by 
her ladies and courtiers, went for a stroll through 
her park. There had been a heavy shower of rain, 
and when they came to a muddy place, the queen 
stopped, for she did not want to soil her shoes. At 
this moment one of the courtiers stepped forward 
and, taking off his richly embroidered cloak, 
spread it for the queen to walk upon. This little 
act of courtesy greatly pleased the queen, and it 
was not forgotten by her; for from that time on 
this courtier, who was none other than Walter 
Raleigh, became one of her favorites. His life at 
the court was full of pleasures and gaieties; but 



Sir Walter Raleigh 69 

he never forgot his boyhood longing for the sea, 
and his desire to have his name connected with the 
early colonies of America. 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, his half-brother, under- 
took to establish a colony in Newfoundland. Ra- 
leigh was greatly interested in the undertaking, 
and the two brothers fitted out a fleet of five ves- 
sels. Ealeigh, however, did not go with his brother 
on this voyage. The undertaking was beset with 
misfortune from the beginning. One of the ves- 
sels deserted early in the voyage ; another returned 
with those who had taken sick; and a third was 
wrecked off Sable island. The men were so law- 
less that they forced Gilbert to turn back to En- 
gland soon after they had landed. The vessel on 
which he had sailed was not strong, and his officers 
begged him to go on board the better vessel; but 
he would not leave the little company with whom 
he had already shared the dangers of the sea. 

When the Golden Hind, the stronger vessel of 
the fleet, came near to the Squirrel, which was the 
name of the vessel in which Sir Humphrey sailed, 
he called out to the men on board, ''Be of good 
heart, my friends ; we are as near to Heaven by sea 
as by land !" That very night the sailors on board 
the Golden Hind saw the frail Squirrel lurch, and 
then suddenly sink beneath the waves. Raleigh 
was overcome with grief when he heard of his 



70 



Settlements 






(j ^.Roanoke 



sland 



brother's death ; but it did not discourage him from 
undertaking to plant a colony in America. 

The next spring Raleigh obtained permission 
from the queen to found a colony in America. He 
believed that the frozen country of the north was 
not a suitable place to make a settlement; so he 

selected a sunny strip of ter- 
ritory between Cape Fear and 
the Delaware river. He sent 
a party to examine the coun- 
try. They returned to En- 
gland with such glowing de- 
scriptions that it would seem 
that the sailors had been '4n 
the midst of some delicate 
garden. ' ' They had landed on 
Roanoke island, and had been 
entertained by the Indian queen. They said that 
the climate was mild, that there was an abundance 
of game and fish, and that there were luscious fruits 
and beautiful flowers. They took home Avith them 
two Indians, one named Wanchese, the other Man- 
teo. Queen Elizabeth, who had been called the 
'< Virgin Queen," was so pleased with their descrip- 
tion of the country that she named it Virginia. 

This new province was now turned over to Sir 
Walter Raleigh. He lost no time in getting ready 
the second expedition. A fleet of seven vessels, car- 
rying one hundred eight colonists, set out with 




ROANOKE ISLAND 



Sir Walter Raleigh 71 

Sir Eichard Grenville in command. Ralph Lane 
was to be the governor of the colony. When they 
reached the coast of what is now Carolina, a terri- 
ble storm arose, and Sir Eichard suggested that 
they call the place Cape Fear. The place has ever 
since been called by that name. Six days after- 
wards the vessels reached Eoanoke. Here it was 
decided to plant the colony. 

For several days explorations were made in the 
nearby territory. One day an Indian took a silver 
cup not knowing its real value. To punish the In- 
dians for this deed, Sir Eichard destroyed their 
fields of corn, and burned one of their villages. He 
then set sail for England ; but the seeds of cruelty 
that he had sown in the hearts of the Indians were 
to be reaped by the colonists. The Indians no 
longer trusted the white men, but rather looked 
upon them with mistrust and hatred. 

The site which Lane selected for a settlement 
was near the northeast corner of the island, and a 
winding ditch that marked the camp may still be 
traced. Instead of tilling the soil, the colonists 
spent their time gold-hunting, as the Spaniards had 
done. They did not cultivate a spirit of indepen- 
dence, but they thought that everything must be 
brought to them from England. 

At first the colonists received their food supplies 
from the neighboring Indian tribes, but after their 
many acts of cruelty, the Indians refused to help 



72 Settlements 

them. They soon found themselves in a desperate 
condition ; and just as they were about to give up 
hope, they caught sight of a fleet coming into their 
harbor. It proved to be the fleet of the English 
sailor, Sir Francis Drake, who was returning to 
England with the spoils which he had taken from 
the Spanish in the southern seas. 

The colonists gladly accepted Drake's invitation 
to be taken back to England. The fleet, bearing the 
colonists, had not been gone long when Sir Richard 
Grenville, who had been sent out by Raleigh, ar- 
rived with three vessels bringing aid. He searched 
everjwv^here for the colonists, but could find no trace 
of them. He did not want to lose claim to the ter- 
ritory; he therefore left fifteen men with supplies 
and provisions enough to last them for two years. 
A brave band of men these must have been ; as far 
as they knew they were the only white men on the 
American continent. The history of these fifteen 
men is a mysterj^ 

Sir Walter Raleigh could not give up his idea of 
planting a colony in Virginia. The next spring he 
sent out another colony. Captain White was placed 
in command. These colonists also landed at Roa- 
noke island. This time, however, the virgin soil 
of the New World was pressed by women's feet 
and the woods echoed with the voices of children, 
for seventeen families had come over. A short 
time after the arrival of the colonists, a little girl 



Sir Walter Raleigh 73 

was born. She was the granddaughter of Gover- 
nor White. Her father's name was Dare, and her 
parents named her Virginia. Virginia Dare was 
the first child of English parents ever born in 
America. Governor White soon afterwards re- 
turned to England, and he was to bring back more 
supplies and other colonists. His leave taking of 
his daughter and her baby girl was a last farewell, 
for he never saw them again. 

On his arrival in England, White found Raleigh 
and many of the leading men of England occupied 
in keeping the Spanish from invading their coun- 
try. The Spanish government had gotten together 
a great fleet, so great that the people of Spain be- 
lieved that it could not be captured by any nation 
of the world. They called it the "Invincible Ar- 
mada." Almost on the first anniversary of the 
birth of Virginia Dare, the English destroyed this 
great fleet in the English channel. Raleigh, al- 
though occupied in trying to defeat the Spaniards, 
did not forget his colony, and in April of 1588, he 
sent White in charge of two ships to Virginia. Be- 
fore White arrived at the Virginia coast, one of his 
ships was captured, and he was forced to return to 
England. 

Raleigh had spent his fortune in the struggle 
with Spain, but as soon as he could arrange for 
it, he again sent White with aid for the Virginia 
colony. With what longing eyes he must have 



74 Settlements 

watched for his daughter and granddaughter as 
his ship glided into the harbor, but no one came to 
greet him. The huts were deserted. Little Vir- 
ginia Dare and the lost colony of Roanoke had 
gone, leaving no trace of their existence except the 
word "Croatan" cut into the bark of a tree. This 
word was the name of an island farther down the 
coast ; if Wliite had continued his search, he might 
possibly have found some trace of the lost colony. 

One of the men who had been with White made a 
careful study of the plants which he found here, 
lie took back to England the tobacco and the po- 
tato. Raleigh had the potato planted on his estate 
in Ireland, in which country it has since been ex- 
tensively cultivated. He was so interested in the 
tobacco that was given him that he ordered his 
jeweler to make him a silver pipe after the fashion 
of the Indian clay pipe. One day he was sitting 
by his fireside j^uffing at his pipe as one of his ser- 
vants entered the room. Noticing the smoke, the 
servant immediately threw water in his face and 
ran from the room screaming that his master was 
on fire. 

Many things claimed Raleigh's attention, but he 
never lost sight of the Virginia colony. He spent 
many thousands of dollars of his own money in 
an effort to j^lant an English colony. At five differ- 
ent times he sent expeditions out to try to find some 



Sir Walti'R Raleigh 75 

trace of the little colony, but nothing was ever 
heard of it. 

Raleigh's troubles at home multiplied, and after 
the death of Queen Elizabeth, his very life was 
threatened. He made an expedition to the north- 
ern coast of South America, thinking that he might 
weaken the power of Spain by planting a colony in 
Guiana. King James, who succeeded Queen Eliza- 
beth, was jealous of Ealeigh's influence, and every- 
thing that Raleigh did caused suspicion. He was 
finally charged with treason against the king, and 
for twelve weary years he was confined in the En- 
glish prison called the Tower. During this time 
he was a careful student of chemistry, and spent 
many hours studying the flowers in the Tower gar- 
den. The king could deprive him of his freedom, 
but he could not take from him his love of books 
and his fondness for writing. At last the king gave 
him his freedom, but he would not grant him a 
pardon. Raleigh made another expedition to 
South America in order that he might find gold 
for the king, but being unsuccessful he was re- 
turned by King James to the Tower and was finally 
sentenced to be beheaded. On examining the edge 
of the executioner's ax, Raleigh wittily remarked, 
"It is a sharp medicine to cure me of my disease." 

Raleigh was a true tj^De of the patriot, and the 
cause for which he had so earnestly labored did not 
die with him: we claim him to-day as the first 



76 Settleme;nts 

friend of the idea of homes in the New World, and 
in his honor one state of the United States has 
named its capital. 

SUGGESTIONS 

What early influence helped to shape Raleigh's life? 
Tell the story of the cloak. 

What is the relation of the words court, courtier, courtesy? 
Who was Sir Humphrey Gilbert? 
Who was Virginia Dare? 
Raleigh is the capital of what state? 

Difficult words — picturesque, adventure, province, tradition, 
abundance, luscious, invade, suspicion. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — (Longfellozv.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Raleigh was the first man who tried to make homes in Amer- 
ica. He never forgot his Virginia colony, although he had 
many troubles in England, 



FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH COLONY 
Jainestoivn, Virginia, in i6o'j. 

England was slow to realize the value of the dis- 
coveries made by the Cabots ; for it was more than 
one hundred years before a permanent English 
settlement was made in America. In the beginning 
of the seventeenth century England began to think 
more about the New World. Two strong commer- 
cial companies Avere organized early in the reign 
of King James I. One was called the London Com- 
pany because the men who were most interested 
in it lived in London. The other company was 
called the Plymouth Company because the men 
largely interested in it lived in Plymouth. 

King James appointed for each company a body 
of men called a council which w^as to govern the 
colony. These men were to live in the colony. The 
king also appointed another body of men called the 
superior council. These men were to live in En- 
gland and were to have a general control of both 
companies. There was a provision made that all 
of the liberties and privileges which belonged to 
Englishmen should belong to these colonists and to 
their children. 

The first effort at settlement was made by the 
Plymouth Company in the northern part of the 

77 



78 



Setti^ements 



m^w,wxsi4r,E,'f!L 



territory granted to that company; but the clhnate 
was so rigorous that only a few of the settlers lived 
through the first winter and those who survived 
soon went back to England. 

Not long after this the London Company planned 
to establish a colony. No more important expedi- 
tion than this one had been 
undertaken since the vovage 
of Columbus. Three vessels 
set out from London and fol- 
lowed the old route which 
Columbus had mapped out. 
Up to this time only a few of 
the daring seamen had ven- 
tured to take the direct 
course to America. The col- 
jnists carried on board a 
chest which contained the 
names of the men who were 
to be members of the council, 
but they were told not to open this chest until they 
reached Virginia. They came to the island of Roa- 
noke, but a storm kept them from landing there. 
At last they came to a bay where the ships could 
come so near to land that they anchored them to 
the trees. The ]3lace chosen for landing was a 
peninsula. It seems strange that before this the 
English had always planted their colonies on is- 
lands. Perhaps it was because their homeland was 




JAMESTOWN 



Permanent English Colony 



79 



an island, or it might have been becanse they feared 
the Indians. 

After a short time the colonists went about fifty 
miles np a river which empties into this bay. In 
honor of their king they named it the James river. 
As soon as they landed, they opened the sealed 
chest, and found out the names of the men who 
were to be members of 
the council. They then 
began to build a fort. 
It was in the shape of 
a triangle with the 
longest side facing the 
river. They named 
the place Jamestown. 
When their fort was 
completed, they built 
a small church in 

which they held religious meetings. Thus, in the 
year 1607 was the beginning of the first successful 
English settlement in America. 




OLD I:Ll-\rf AT JA-Ml'.ST' 



i\VN 



80 ' Settleiments 

SUGGESTIONS 

State in what century each of the foHowing dates is, 1492, 
1513, 1588, 1607, 1620. 

Why did sailors coming from England follow the same route 
which Columbus took? 

Why were the London and the Plymouth companies formed ? 

Difficult words — realize, century, commercial, rigorous, ex- 
pedition, peninsula, council. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The first successful English settlement was made at James- 
town, Virginia, in 1607. 



CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 



The Hero of the Virginia Colony 

The story of the Virginia colony would not be 
complete without knowing something of Jolm 
Smith, the man who did so 
much to make it a success. 
He was a real adventurer, 
but was well fitted to handle 
the problems of a new coun- 
try. He had traveled much, 
had been in wars in Holland, 
and at one time had been 
held as a galley-slave by the 
Turks. He had returned to 
England just in time to sail 
with the London Companj^ 
for Virginia. The colony 
which this company planted 
was composed of one hun- 
dred four persons. Only a 
few of them knew any of 
the useful trades, and the 
greater number of the com- 
pany styled themselves gen- 
tlemen. These so-called gentlemen did not like the 
fabulous stories which Smith told of his adven- 

81 




ST \ T!" I . OF 
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 



82 



Settlemi^nts 



tures, nor did tliey like his plain, practical manner 
of living. So unpopular had he become that even 
before they landed, they had deprived him of his 
freedom. They were slow to give him his office 
even when they found that the king had appointed 
him as- a member of the council. 

When troubles in the management of the colony 
began, and begin they did, these helpless gentle- 
men were glad enough 
to ask advice of Smith. 
In all kinds of diffi- 
culties he somehow 
seemed to know just 
what ought to be done, 
and then had the en- 
ergy to do it. It was 
not long until he was 
at the head of the col- 
ony. 

Smith taught the 
colonists how to wield 
the ax in the forest, 
and this was the be- 
ginning of the popular custom of rail splitting. It 
took a long time for the colonists to learn what 
seeds would grow best in this climate. Indian corn 
became their principal food, and the tobacco plant 
was grown as an article of commerce. The colon- 
ists planted it everywhere, even in their streets: 




BUILDING HOMES AT 
JAMESTOWN 



Captain John Smith 83 

as there was little gold or silver, they used it as 
money. 

While the settlers were learning how to raise 
their crops, the Indians had become so hostile that 
tlie settlers did not dare to go far from the fort. 
Smith had made many visits to the neighboring 
tribes; he succeeded in trading for Indian corn 
which was for some time the main support of the 
settlers. On one of these expeditions he took with 
him two companions and the three were taken cap- 
tive by the Indians. His two companions were 
killed, but Smith escaped death by showing the na- 
tives his pocket compass. The Indians allowed him 
to write a letter to his friends, but they were great- 
ly surprised when they found that, by means of 
a few marks on paper, he could tell his friends 
what had happened. He was carried from one 
tribe to another, until at last he came to Powhatan, 
the white man's enemy. This Indian chief had 
ordered his men to kill Smith, and when the dread- 
ful order was about to be executed, it is said that 
his little ten-year-old daughter, Pocahontas, rushed 
in and, throwing her arms around the brave white 
man, plead with her father to spare his life. Pow- 
hatan was a determined warrior, but he could not 
refuse the request of his favorite daughter. Smith 
was returned to the colony, with a pledge of friend- 
ship from the Indians. Pocahontas afterwards 
made nianv visits to Jamestown, canying baskets 



84 Settlements 

of corn for the settlers. A good many years after 
this incident, she married one of the colonists, John 
Rolfe, and went to live in England. 

The London Company was impatient because the 
colony did not yield a greater profit. Smith re- 
doubled his energies to make the colony at least 
self-supporting. When his year of office had ex- 
pired, he returned to England never again to visit 
Jamestown, although he spent many years after 
this exploring the coast of the New England States. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of Captain John Smith. 
Who was Powhatan? 

Difficult words — fabulous, hostile, impatient, redoubled, gal- 
ley-slave. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
The Story of Pocahontas. — {Martha A. L. Lane.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
John Smith taught his colonists how to work. He showed 
them that success could be had by labor only. 



FIRST NEW ENGLAND COLONY 
The Pilgrim Fathers Sought Religious Freedom 

It was abiiost fourteen years from the first land- 
ing at Jamestown until a settlement was made at 
Plymouth in Massachusetts. This seems a long 













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DEPARTURE FROM HOLLAND 



time to us now for England to neglect the develop- 
ment of a country so rich in resources as America. 
During those fourteen years, however, there were 
stirring times in England, and we can better un- 

85 



86 Setti,em^nts 

derstand the people who settled at Plymouth if 
we first learn something of what was happening 
in England. At that time James I was king of 
England. He decreed that all of his subjects must 
attend the services of the Church of England. 
Many of his peoi:)le disliked the forms of worship, 
and thought that these should be made more sim- 
ple. They wanted a purer form of religion, there- 
fore they were called Puritans. Others disliked 
the services of the English church so much that 
they refused to attend the meetings. They held 
separate meetings wherever they could. These 
Puritans were called Separatists, because they 
held meetings separate from the Church of En- 
gland. The king was greatly displeased with these 
Separatists, and often had their leaders arrested 
and placed in jail. 

At the little town of Scrooby in the northeastern 
part of England was a little company of Separa- 
tists; these were so persecuted by the king's offi- 
cers that they decided to leave England, and to go 
to Holland. They were then called Pilgrims. The 
people of Holland were kind to them, and they 
finally located at Leyden. The people of Holland 
did not disturb them in their religious worship, but 
they were still unhappy. They spent about tAvelve 
years in the land of the Dutch, but they never felt 
that Holland was their home. They were English- 
men, and they realized that if their children and 



First Ni;w England Colony 



87 



their grandchildren were raised in Holland that 
they would not be Englishmen but Dutchmen. 

At last these Pilgrims decided that they would 
rather risk the dangers of pioneer life in America 
than suffer their little band of followers to be sep- 
arated from each other in Holland. They sent 




THE MAYFLOWER IN THE HARBOR 

agents to England to get permission of King James 
to make a settlement in America. He would not 
give them a chai'ter, as was customary, ])ut would 
only promise them that he would not disturb them 
so long as they behaved properly. The London 
Company at last gave them permission to settle in 
their territory. 



88 



Settlements 



The Pilgrims at Leyden sailed from Holland in 
a ship called Speechvell. The ship, however, was 
not well named, for it was with great difficulty that 
they reached Southhampton, England. Here they 
were joined by the Mayfloiver. The two vessels 
put to sea, but the Speedwell was so leaky that it 
coudd not make the voyage. They stopped at Ply- 
mouth, England, and all those who hesitated about 

making the voyage were 
allowed to turn back. 
There were one hundred 
two brave persons who 
went on board the May- 
flotver and continued the 
voyage. 

The Pilgrims, h o w - 
ever, did not succeed in 
landing within the limits 
of the London Company 
as they had planned, but were carried far to the 
north. After a stormy voyage of sixty-four days 
from the time that they had sailed from the En- 
glish port of Plymouth, they were made happy at 
the sight of the white sands of Cape Cod. Before 
they landed, they held a meeting and agreed to 
make just and equal laws, such as would be best 
for the general good of the colony. Each one was 
required to sign an agreement that he would obey 
the laws of the colony. John Carver, a deacon in 




SIGNING THE COMPACT 



First New England Colony 



89 



the cliurch, was named, their first governor; and 
Miles Standish, who was much loved although not 
a member of their religious order, was made their 
military leader. Even before they landed, they 
laid the foundation of good govermnent. 




LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS 



On a stormy day in December, 1620, they came 
out of the Mayflower upon a flat boulder, whicli 
was called Plymouth Rock. Captain John Smith, 
who had been there before the arrival of the Pil- 
grims, had named the place Plymouth on his map 
of New England. They liked the name, because 
it reminded them of England. Their landing was 
without the military display that was usually 



90 



Settlements 



shown by the Spaniards, nor was there seen the 
traces of idleness which were so common among 
the settlers of Jamestown. These were gentlemen 
in the full meaning which the word carries. 

With snow and ice 
under their feet, with 
a wintry blast driving 
the cold to their very 
marrow, with a heavy 
forest hemming them 
in and concealing the 
hirking savage a n d 
the h o w 1 i n g wild 
beast, these men be- 
s:an to build homes. 
The Mayflower shel- 
tered their wives and 
children until the 
gnarled timber was 
e h a p e d into rude 
though somewhat com- 
fortable homes. The 
winter was long and 
ievere, and many of 

this brave band were laid to rest in their burying 
ground. Their graves were early sown to grain, 
in order that the Indians might not suspect that 
so many of their number had died. 




GOING TO CHURCH 



First New England Colony 91 

It is difficult for us to understand how much 
these Pilgrims suffered during that first Avinter. 
Their food suj^ply was so low that at one time each 
one was given only five kernels of corn three times 
a day. Their brave hearts did not fail them, and 
they cared for each other as best they could; but 
half of their number died before the summer came. 
John Carver, their governor, lived through that 
trying winter, but suddenly passed away while 
scattering seed for the summer harvest. They 
buried hirii on the hillside where so many of their 
company had been placed, and selected the pious 
and kind-hearted Bradford to succeed him as gov- 
ernor of the colony. 

All through the summer they were happy with 
their work, and at its close they began to gather 
their harvests and prepare for the long winter. 
Their barley and Indian corn had yielded good re- 
turns, and game was so plentiful that "four men 
in one day killed as much as, with a little help be- 
side, served the company almost a week." The 
people of that little colony could see so many rea- 
sons why they should be thankful, that their gov- 
ernor gave an order for a three-day feast of thanks- 
giving. This was the beginning of our Thanks- 
giving observance. Men were sent into the woods 
for wild turkey, housewives busied themselves in 
their kitchens, and a messenger was sent to Massa- 



93 



Setti,emknts 



soit, chief of an Indian tribe of that region, to in- 
vite the friendly Indians to their feast. 

To-day we can understand the meaning of 
Elder Brewster's prophetic words uttered that day 

when he said: ''Gen- 
erations to come shall 
look back to this hour 
and these scenes o f 
agonizing trial, this 
day of small things, 
and say, ' Here w a s 
o u r beginning as a 
people. These w ere 
our fathers. Through 
their trials we inherit 
our blessings. Their 
faith is our faith ; 
their ho2>e our hope; 
their God our God.' " 





PlymouthV* 
\ 1620. 1^ 



■^ 



MAP OP PLYMOUTH 



First New England Colony 93 

SUGGESTIONS 

How long between the first and second English settlements? 

Why did the English colonies succeed better than those of 
France or Spain? 

Why do you think some of the Pilgrims hesitated to make 
the voyage? 

Tell the story of the Pilgrims. 



SOMETHING TO READ 

How the Pilgrims Came to Plymouth. — Colonial Stories Re- 
told from St. Nicholas. 

Landing of the Pilgrims. — {Felicia D. Hemans.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
The Pilgrims sought and found freedom to worship God. 



KING PHILIP'S WAR 
Pirst Lesso}is in Colonial Warfare 

At the end. of the first half century after the 
landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, the population of 
the New England colonies, as they were called, had 

increased to over fifty 
thousand. The settlements 
had been made mainly 
along the coast, but there 
were a few pioneer towns 
in the interior. The rap- 
idly increasing number of 
white men alarmed the In- 
dians. They saw their 
hunting grounds changed 
to cultivated fields, and 
they foresaw that the land 
which had been theirs for 

KING PHILIP 

SO many years was soon 
to belong to the white man. The settlers had 
bought their land from the Indians, and had per- 
suaded some of the red men to drop their wild 
manner of living, and to adopt the Christian relig- 
ion. 

The old chief Massasoit, who had been such a 
good friend to the settlers, died and left two sons 

94 




King Piiiup's War 95 

whom the English named Alexander and Philip. 
Alexander succeeded his father in authority, and 
was one day brought to Plymouth to answer to the 
charge of plotting against the English. While he 
was there he became ill, and died before he could be 
returned to his people. This was ground for sus- 
picion, and the superstitious red men believed that 
he had been foully treated. His brotlier Philij) 
succeeded him, and it was not long until there was 
a general feeling of unrest throughout the English 
colonies. At last King Pliilip was also sent for. 
He entered into a treaty wdiich he kept for three 
years. 

The next news of an outl)r(Mik came from a young 
Indian who had studied at Harvard College and 
who could speak the English language with ease. 
Philip was greatly grieved when he heard that 
eight or nine settlers had been killed; but when 
the war had really begun, he threw himself into 
the struggle. The Indians continued to slaughter 
the white settlers wherever they could find them, 
but they were driven by the whites into the forests 
and swamps. 

At last King Philip returned to his home in 
proud despair; but when one of his people sug- 
gested to him that it would be best to make peace 
with the whites, Phili]) slew him for daring to men- 
tion such humiliation. The brotlier of the slain 
man w^ent to the camp of the Englishmen, and of- 



96 Se;ttleme;nts 

fered to show them where King Philip was con- 
cealed. The Englishmen fell upon the Indian 
camp by surprise, and took King Philip's little 
son as a prisoner. This broke the courage of their 
brave leader, and he cried out, ''My heart breaks, 
I am ready to die." He was followed to his hiding 
place, and was killed by a bullet from an Indian's 
musket. 

The war with the Indians w^as ended, and their 
power was completely broken. Scarcely a hundred 
men were left in one of the strongest tribes, and 
all of the tribes had lost heavily. The English, too, 
had suffered. Over six hundred men had given up 
their lives; there was scarcely a family which did 
not mourn the loss of some loved one. Twelve or 
thirteen towns had been utterly destroyed, and 
more than six hundred houses had been burned. 

Through these trying times England had not 
even offered to help the struggling colonists, and 
the sturdy Englishmen would not beg for assist- 
ance from the mother country. The king of En- 
gland was careful to exact every penny for the 
duties on the things which the colonists shipped. 
Near the close of this war the king establislied a 
custom house or place where all of the royal duties 
could be collected. All these acts were annoying to 
the colonists, but they were learning lessons which 
would be useful to them in the j^ears which were 
to come. 



King Philip's War 97 

SUGGESTIONS 

Prepare for your teacher a list of the words used in this 
lesson which you do not understand. Tell the story of King 
Philip. 

Difficult words — humiliation, royal duties. 



SOMETHING TO READ 

Old Times in the Colonies. — (C. C. Coffin.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

King Philip was a proud warrior. He was grieved when he 
learned that there must be war between the settlers and the 
Indians. England did not help her colonists in this war. 



THE DUTCH IN AMERICA 



Peter Stiiyvesant, the Last of the Dutch Governors 

We are sometimes inclined to believe that En- 
gland was the only conntry that planted colonies 

in the New World, but 
we must not forget 
that after England de- 
feated the great Span- 
ish Armada, France 
and Holland still re- 
mained to dispute the 
territory with the En- 
glish. The land which 
the French claimed 
lay so far to the north 
and tlie west in the 
region of the St. Law- 
rence, and in the val- 
ley of the Mississippi 
that the English gave 
them little thought in those early years of settle- 
ment. 

Holland realized the importance of the discover- 
ies of Henry Hudson at the mouth of the Hudson 
river, and after some years, the Dutch West India 
Company was organized to encourage trade with 

98 




iMAP OF DUTCH SETTLEMENT 



The Dutch In America 



99 



America. The newly organized company called 
their land New Netherland ; it lay between the Mas- 
sachusetts colony on the north and the Virginia col- 
ony on the south. The distance between the colon- 
ies was great enough to insure freedom of thought 
and of life for each of them. The English Puritan 
could live in his own way ; 
the Virginia cavalier could 
do as he liked ; and the un- 
trodden soil of the new 
continent offered a free 
life for the Dutch trader. 

Any person who could 
establish a colony of fifty 
persons, might select for 
himself anywhere in New 
Netherland a tract of land 
not more than sixteen 
miles in length along one 
bank of a river, or eight 
miles on both sides, and in 
breadth as m u c h as he 

could use. The owner of sucli a tract of land was 
called a patroon. There were two things required 
of such a land holder; he must buy the land from 
the Indians, and he must not allow any cotton or 
woolen goods to be manufactured in America. The 
mother country reserved the right to manufacture. 
Holland had long been known for her industries; 




A COLONIST IN ARMOR 



100 



Setti^ements 



her woolen and linen goods were known through- 
out the world ; and in the manufacture of pottery 
and tiles, Holland was not excelled. 

In the spring of 1623 a party of colonists ar- 
rived at Manhattan island. When these colonists 
were almost ready to land they came upon some 

Frenchmen in a 
small boat who were 
about to plant the 
banner of France 
on the shore. A 
Dutch boat, armed 
with two cannons, 
was sent to escort 
the French out of 
the harbor. Thus 
ended the French 
efforts to get a foot- 
hold on the middle 
Atlantic seacoast. 
A little group of 
the settlers who had landed at Manhattan ascended 
the Hudson river, and near the present site of Al- 
bany they built Fort Orange. The first American- 
Dutch baby was born at this fort. About three 
years after the arrival of these first settlers, Peter 
Minuit was appointed governor of New Nether- 
land. One of his first acts was to buy the land from 
the natives and to establish the fort of New Am- 




BUILDING HOMES IN NEW YORK 



The Dutch In America 101 

sterdam. He paid twenty-four dollars for the en- 
tire island of Manhattan. This island contains 
about twenty-two thousand acres. The wildest 
fancy could not have suggested how great would 
be its value in the twentieth century. 

The power and influence of the patroons grew so 
rapidly that the company would gladly have 
changed the charter had it not been unjust to break 
faith with the colonists who had settled under its 
provisions. Each year the wealthy landowners 
took things more into their own hands; and little 
they cared for the struggling people who owned 
fewer acres of land than they. 

New Netherland was ruled over by several gov- 
ernors, but the soldierly Peter Stuyvesant w^as the 
greatest of them all. There is something peculiar 
about his family name. It is a compound of Dutch 
words which mean to stir up with sand. It was 
probably the name of a breezy place on the sea- 
shore where the sand blew about, and it was not 
uncommon for the names of places to become fam- 
ily names. It was certainly well suited to his char- 
acter for he was full of pluck, and possessed 
stirring qualities. He was a college graduate, and 
took great pride in his knowdedge of Latin. He 
had been a governor in the Dutch West Indies, and 
his military service had cost him a leg. He was 
fearless in saying and doing whatever he believed 
to be right. 



102 Settlements 

In 1647 he arrived as the governor of New Neth- 
erland ; the people were so delighted that they used 
nearly all of the powder in the fort in their mili- 
tary salutes to him. In his address to them he 
summed up his idea of government in these words : 
"I shall govern you as a father his children for 
the advantage of the chartered West India Com- 
pany, and these burghers, and this land." Had 
the people known their lion-hearted, generous spir- 
ited governor better, they i)robabh^ would not have 
used quite so much of their powder. 

He began at once to set things aright, but he soon 
found that he needed money to carry out his plans. 
The colonists were willing to furnish the funds 
necessary, if they might have a voice or represen- 
tation in the government of their colony. It was 
therefore agreed that they should elect nine men to 
assist, when called upon, in managing the colony 
for the welfare of all. In return for this feeble 
voice in self-government, the colonists agreed to 
allow him to increase their taxes on furs and other 
things which they were now exporting. This would 
furnish more money to satisfy the ever-greedy 
West India Company. 

The success of the Dutch West India Company 
caused Sweden to want to plant a colony, and to 
share in the profits of the rapidly developing New 
World. Peter Minuit, a former governor of New 
Netherland, was selected to lead the Swedish set- 



Till' Dutch In America 10;3 

tiers to a good location. He felt iiijiired because 
lie had been dismissed from New Netlierlaud, and 
he heartily entered into the new project. He 
landed his colonists on the west shore of Delaware 
bay, and bought a large tract of land from the In- 
dians. He called it New Sweden, just as the En- 
glish had called their new world home New En- 
gland, and the French had christened theirs, New 
France, and the people of Netherlands had cher- 
ished the memory of their homes across the sea in 
the name New Netherland. They built a fort and 
named it in honor of their queen. Fort Christiana. 
The Swedes were not welcome as settlers. The En- 
glish in Virginia wrote to England for permission 
to drive them awa}", and the Dutch sent them warn- 
ing that it would be best for them to leave. 

For a dozen years the Dutch suffered the colony 
to exist ; but when Sweden became engaged in war 
with Poland, the sturdy Peter Stuyvesant saw the 
golden oi^portunity to strike a blow. A¥ith seven 
Avarships and seven hundred soldiers he entered 
Delaware bay, and sailed up the river. The five 
hundred settlers of New Sweden were taken by 
surprise, and there was nothing they could do but 
surrender. The settlers were not disturbed. They 
were simply to live under the flag of Holland in- 
stead of their Swedish flag. Little did the strong- 
headed Peter Stuyvesant think that he himself 
would soon be asked to take down the flag of his 



104 



Settlements 



native land, and hoist in its place the flag of En 
gland. 

The English were never quite satisfied to have 
the Dutch on land which they claimed by right of 
the discoveries of the Cabots, although they had 
not occupied it. One day a messenger came riding 
at full speed to tell Governor Stuyvesant that the 
English fleet had sailed from Boston, and was 
hourly expected at Manhattan. Stuyvesant had at 

his command only about 
one hundred fifty 
trained soldiers and 
twenty mounted guns, a 
weak defense against so 
powerful a fleet. Stuy- 
vesant consulted with 
his councilors, but he 
found that they were in- 
clined to submit to the 
English. 

These thrifty Hol- 
landers had again and 
again asked for laws that would protect them from 
such heavy taxes, and that would give them a 
stronger voice in their- government; but Stuyve- 
sant had always told them that the old laws must 
stand, and as to office holding, he had always said 
that if it were left to the common people to elect 
officers 'Sve would have thieves on horseback 




PETER STUYVESANT 



The Dutch In America 105 

and honest men on foot." The American idea of 
government had no place in the thought of the 
brave governor; but we shall soon see that the 
voice of the people was to be heard. 

At last, a boat with a flag of truce landed, and 
a half dozen Englishmen came ashore. They were 
escorted to the parlor of a nearb}^ hotel, where 
Stuyvesant and the city officers received them 
politely. Their leader tried to show Stuwesant 
and his officers how it would be to their advantage 
to yield to the English, and he handed a letter to 
Stuwesant. Then the Englishmen returned to 
their boat. Meanwhile, the great fleet was waiting 
in the harbor. Stuyvesant read the letter aloud, 
and his officers asked that it might be read to the 
crowd of citizens who by this time had gathered 
outside. 

Stuyvesant, who feared that the generous offer 
of the English might influence the already discon- 
tented citizens, positively refused the request; and 
when his councilors insisted, he flew into a rage 
and tore the letter into bits. One of their number 
gathered together the scattered pieces, and made 
a copy which was read to the anxious people. 
There were many who had grown tired of the arbi- 
trary way in which they had been ruled, and were 
ready to accept the more generous offer of the En- 
arlish. 



106 SliTTLEMENTS 

Stuyvesant prepared au elaborate reply defend- 
ing the right of the Dutch title to New Netherland, 
and sent it by four trusty friends to Richard 
Nicolls, the English connnander. This was a time 
when the jDen was not mightier than the sword ; for 
word was sent to the governor saying: "I shall 
come Avith ships and soldiers, hoist a white flag at 
the fort, and I may consider your proposals." 
Stuyvesant did all in his power to rall,y his people 
to oppose the English, and this self-willed leader 
hesitated even while the gunners stood with lighted 
matches, awaiting his decision. The wisest and most 
influential men on his council told him that *' Re- 
sistance is not soldiership, it is sheer madness." 
Women and children flocked about the brave old 
man, and with tear-stained faces they begged him 
to surrender. The order to fire Avas not given. In 
a few moments the white flag fluttered over Fort 
Amsterdam, and thus the rule of Holland in Amer- 
ica came to an end, and New Amsterdam became 
New York. 



The Dutch In America 107 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did not Holland want her colonists to mannfactnre 
anything? 

Who was a patroon? 

How did the Dntch treat the French ? 

Why did Sweden want to plant a colony? 

How did the Dutch treat the Swedes? 

Write the story of how the flag of Holland was replaced by 
the flag of England. 

Difficult words — export, influential, proposals, resistance. 

SOMETHING TO READ 

Old Dutch Times in New York.— (Thomas IVcntivorth Ilig- 
ginson.) 

The Story of Manhattan. — (Scribncr.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Peter Stuyvesant was the last of the Dutch governors. He 
did all that he could to keep New Amsterdam for Holland, 
but he did not succeed. 



WILLIAM PENN 



The Founder of Pennsylvania 

It was fortunate for the poor and oppressed of 
Europe that America was discovered. This vast 
territory offered a safe retreat for a great many- 
people whose hves had been narrowed by unjust 

laws. In England there 
lived a little boy named 
William Penn whose fath- 
er was an admiral and 
possessed wealth and had 
great influence with the 
king. When William was 
sixteen years of age, he 
entered Oxford College 
and gained the reputation 
of being a good scholar 
and an athlete. He was 
fond of field sports, Avas a good oarsman, and loved 
Greek. It is said that he could speak fluently the 
Latin, Italian, French, German, and Dutch lan- 
guages. 

While he was at school at Oxford he was con- 
verted to the Quaker faith. The Quakers were a 
religious sect and were greatly persecuted in En- 
gland. The boy's father. Admiral Penn, was de- 

108 




WILLIAM PENN 



William Penn 109 

termined that William should follow in his father's 
footsteps and accordingly sent him to Paris with 
some fashionable friends, thus hoping to cure him 
of his Quaker notions. William spent several 
years in travel and study, but not once did he re- 
nounce his Quaker faith. While he was in Ire- 
land, he was put in prison because he attended a 
Quaker meeting. His father, who was a loyal mem- 
ber of the Church of England, was thoroughly dis- 
gusted with his son. One day he said to William, 
**You may thee and tJiou other folk as you may 
like, but don't dare to thee and thou the king, or 
the duke of York, or me." 

The king was inclined to treat the matter in a 
jovial way, and one day when he met the young 
man, he removed his hat. ''Why dost thou remove 
thy hat, friend Charles?" said William Penn. 
"Because," replied the king, "wherever I am, it 
is customary for only one to remain covered!" 
Admiral Penn could not thus lightly pass over 
what he considered his son's obstinacy, so he turned 
him away from home without money. 

Lady Penn begged that their son should not 
be so harshly treated, and an intimate friend of 
Admiral Penn explained to him that he ought to 
be proud of a son of such noble character and of 
such varied abilities. The father at last repented, 
and William was restored to full favor. William 
Penn inherited a large estate, and he planned to 



110 Settlements 

establish a home for his Quaker friends. His at- 
tention was directed to America as a good place for 
such a home. In 1680 he began to jDlan for a tract 
of land in America. His father had never received 
all his salary as a naval officer, and had lent some 
money to the king. William Penn sent a request 
to the king asking that in payment of the deljt due 
his father he be given a tract of land lying north 
of Maryland. On the 4th of March, 1681, the king, 
Charles II, placed his signature to the charter, and 
Penn became lord of a vast territory of over forty 
tliousand square miles, or a tract of land about the 
size of England. 

So little was known about the extent of this tract 
of land that it required more than one Irundred 
years to settle the boundary line between Pennsjd- 
vania, Maryland and Virginia. The commission- 
ers appointed to survey it could not agree. There- 
fore, two skilled surveyors. Mason and Dixon, were 
brought from England to do this work. They had 
completed all but the last thirty-six miles of the 
survey when Indian troubles arose and stopped 
the work. At the end of every fifth mile they had 
placed a stone, brought from England, which was 
engraved on one side with the arms of Lord Balti- 
more, and on the other with that of the Penns. 
The remaining thirty-six miles were surveyed by 
Alexander McLean of Pennsylvania and Joseph 



William F^nn 111 

Nevelifc of Virginia. This line is always known 
in history as the "Mason and Dixon" line. 

Penn planned to call his province New Wales, 
because he had been told that there were hills Avest 
of the Delaware. The king decreed otherwise, and 
named it Sylvania, meaning "woodland", and 
while he held the draft of the charter in his hand 
he wrote Penn before Sylvania. Penn did not like 
this for he thought that it would seem as though 
he had sought too much honor for himself. The 
quick-witted Charles II said to him: "I do not 
(give it this name on your account, but to keep in 
memory the name of the Admiral, your noble 
father." 

In the autumn of 1682, Penn sailed in his ship. 
Welcome, for his new province. He started with 
a hundred passengers on board, but more than 
thirty died from small-pox before they reached 
their new home. Nine weeks after sailing, he 
landed in the harbor of New Castle. Here he was 
welcomed by the Swedes, English, and Dutch who 
had gone to this new country before his arrival. 
The day after he arrived, Penn gathered these peo- 
ple together and formally took possession of the 
province. An agent of the king gave Penn the 
key of the fort and presented him with "turf and 
twig, and water and soil of the river Delaware. ' ' 

Penn then went on up the Delaware in an open 
boat, and the site for his city was reached the first 



112 Settlements 

week in November. There was a meeting of the 
delegates from the settlers, and rules by which they 
were to be governed were discussed. This colony 
was to be a free home for all mankind. William 
Penn said to them: "You shall be governed by 
laws of your own making. I shall not usurp the 
right of any, or oppress his person." 

Penn then began to lay out the city which he 
called Philadelphia, meaning "brotherly love." 
The streets were named for the trees, pine, chest- 
nut, walnut, and cedar, which grew near. The idea 
of self-government took good root in this colony, 
and in this same city ninety-three years later the 
Declaration of Independence was signed. 

At first, settlers came faster than log cabins 
could be built for them. They came from many 
places in England, Wales, Holland, and Germany. 
Many of them, but not all, were Quakers. They 
were mostly men who had come to the New World 
to engage in various kinds of work. 

The deputy governor, who had been with the set- 
tlers before Penn's arrival, had exchanged many 
pledges of friendship with the "red men of the 
forest," as the Indians were sometimes called. 
Penn called a council of the chiefs of the neighbor- 
ing tribes. Without weapon of any kind and with 
no mark of rank except a sash of blue silk, he met 
them under the spreading branches of a great elm 
tree. 



William Penn 



113 



The Indians were pleased witli the stranger, and 
they formed a semi-circle to hear the word of their 
great brother explained to them by an interpreter. 
He said to them: "Brothers, listen! Brothers, 
we are coming to bring good words to your ear. 
We call you brothers, too ; yes, the red men on this 




FINN'S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 



side of the big water and the white men on the 
other side are all children of the Great Spirit, and 
so must love one another and never fall out." 
When he had finished speaking, the sachem slow- 
ly arose and thus replied: "Brother, your words 
are few; we feel them burning in our hearts. 



114 Settlements 

Brother, we feel that the Great Spirit is good ; our 
hearts always told us so, and we see it with our 
eyes. This big water which runs along by this 
Shackamaxon, with all the fish in it, speaks that 
the Great Spirit is good; this ground that grows 
so much corn, beans, and tobacco for us speaks that 
the Great Spirit is good, and would not have done 
such things for us if he had not been good and 
loved us so much." Penn then made a pledge of 
friendship which should endure as long as the sun 
and moon gave light. 

As time passed, the Indians found every word 
of the treaty fulfilled. The name of the white man 
Avho could keep faith wdth the Indian spread far 
and wide. 

Penn received news from England which made 
it necessary for him to go back to his home. Pie 
expected soon to return to his colony, but persecu- 
tions and imprisonments and family sorrows fol- 
lowed each other in such quick succession that it 
was many years before he could even visit his 
"hoh^ experiment", as he called it. Such was the 
beginning of one of the most prosperous of the 
thirteen colonies. 



William Penn 115 

SUGGESTIONS 

Write the story of Pennsylvania, using the following topics : 

1. William Penn, the founder. 

2. How he treated the Indians. 

3. Success of his colony. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Colonial Children. — (Hart.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

William Penn will always be remembered as the founder 
of Pennsylvania. The word means Penn's woods. Phila- 
delphia means "brotherly love." 



THE LAST OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES 
Georgia, the Home of the Oppressed 

The colonies about which we have just learned 
were established for various reasons. Some for 
religious freedom, some to extend the territory of 
the parent country in the New World, and some 
to gain riches for the founder. James Oglethorpe, 
a wealthy military man of England, wished to es- 
tablish a colony as a home for those who could not 
pay their debts. He said he intended to hold the 
land in trust for the poor, and he selected as his 
motto for the colony, "Not for self, but for others." 

The oppressed, not only of England, but of Ger- 
many, and of other countries as well, flocked to his 
colony. The laws of England then were strict 
about debts, and more than four thousand men 
were at that time in prison for debt. Oglethorpe 
believed that the punishment for debtors was too 
severe. He spent a part of his fortune in paying 
the debts of some of these poor men, and then re- 
ceived permission from King George to establish 
a colony in America as a home where they could 
begin life anew. He was given permission to oc- 
cupy the land south of the Carolinas. The Span- 
iards had settled in Florida and claimed the land 
farther to the north than the present boundary of 

116 



The Last of the English Colonies 117 

Florida. Oglethorpe's colony was to serve as a 
wedge to keep the Spaniards from extending their 
territory, and also to protect the settlers of the 
Carolinas from Spanish invasion. Oglethorpe 
named the colony Georgia, in honor of his king. 

In 1733 Oglethorpe landed with thirty-five fam- 
ilies. The settlers from South Carolina gave them 
rice and cattle to help them until they could help 
themselves. Oglethorpe bought the land from the 
Indians, and located his followers at Savannah. He 
lived with his colony, and taught the people how 
to lay out their town and how to build their houses. 
For more than a year he lived in a tent stretched 
beneath four wide-spreading pine trees. 

Oglethorpe made friends with the Indians. One 
day one of the chiefs brought him a buffalo skin ; 
on the inner side of this was painted the head and 
feathers of an eagle. ''Here is a little present," 
said the chief. ' ' The feathers of the eagle are soft, 
and signify love; the buffalo skin is warm, and is 
the sign of protection; therefore, love and protect 
our families." The Indians liked Oglethorpe be- 
cause he treated them fairly, and because they ad- 
mired his military appearance and his great en- 
durance. These are qualities which have always 
been attractive to the Indian. 

As the colony developed, the dominating spirit 
of Oglethorpe was not so acceptable to the colon- 
ists. They early caught the spirit of liberty which 



118 Settlements 

the free and unclaimed America suggested. His 
laws were strict, and he did not allow the colonists 
to have a voice in the government of the colony. 
No one was allowed to own land in his own name, 
and each man was assigned fifty acres of land, no 
more, no less. He did not own it, he could not sell 
it, and at his death it was given to his oldest son ; 
or if he had no son, it was returned to the trustees 
of the colony to be assigned to some one else. The 
wife or daughter could not hold land. 

It was his plan to establish a military colony 
which could be called upon at an}^ time to keep the 
Spanish from invading their territory. The Span- 
ish did attempt to come into this territory, but 
Ogletliorpe by his wise management kept them 
from getting possession of Georgia. After ten 
years of faithful service in the colony, he returned 
to England. He was made a major-general in the 
English army. He never returned to the colony 
for which lie had so faithfully labored without hope 
of reward. The control of the colony passed to 
the king of England and thus it remained until 
the Revolution. 



Thk Last op the English Colonies 119 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why do we honor Oglethorpe? 

What was his motto? 

Difficult words — invasion, trustee, assign, misfortune. 



SOMETHING TO READ 

The Thirteen Colonies. — {Helen A. Smith.) 
Source Book. — (Hart.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Virginia was the first colony, and Georgia was the last. 
Georgia was named Georgia in honor of King George. 



GEOWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 

THE THIRTEEN COLONIES 
Their Homes an Index to Their Lives 

From the planting of the first English colony at 
Jamestown nntil Georgia was settled by James 
Oglethorpe, there was a lapse of one hundred 
twenty-six years. The number of colonies had now 
increased to thirteen. They were located along 
the Atlantic coast, and extended from Maine to 
Georgia. For convenience, we group them in three 
classes. The New England colonies were : Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New 
Hampshire; the Middle colonies: New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; and 
the Southern colonies : Maryland, Virginia, North 
and South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Brave and determined people had made their 
homes in these colonies because they had sought 
freedom from some form of oppression in the 
country from which they came, and now we shall 
watch this same spirit of freedom develop. At 
first the colonists were quite dependent upon their 
mother country; but little by little they learned 
that they need not rely so much upon their old 
homeland. The Puritan in New England, the cav- 

120 



The; Thirteen Colonies 131 

alier in Virginia, the Quaker in Pennsylvania, and 
the Dutch in New York, had all come to enjoy the 
freedom of the New World. 

At first these colonists knew little of each other, 
but gradually they came to understand that they 
were, in a measure, kindred spirits, even if they 
did differ in their religious beliefs and in their 
manner of living. 

When the Puritan of Massachusetts became dis- 
satisfied, he could find a home in Connecticut or 
Ehode Island ; and the Dutch of New York might 
find a welcome among the people of Pennsylvania. 

The homes of the i^eople are an index to the pros- 
perity of the country. This was true of the homes 
of the colonists. At first the houses were holes dug 
in the ground, or sheds covered with branches, or 
huts made of bark. When New York had thirty 
houses, all but one of them were hovels. A little 
later their cabins had hewn logs for their floors. 
They did not have glass windows, but instead they 
used sheets of oiled paper. In the evening they 
sat about their fires reading books that had been 
printed in the homeland; or they listened to the 
strange stories of pioneer life and adventures, with 
no light save the flicker of the pine knots in the 
fire-place, or the glimmer of a candle or greased 
rag. Such lights now seem to us all too dim, as we 
compare them with the brilliant lights of to-day. 



122 



Growth and De;velopme;nt 



The colonists, however, did not long live in this 
way for their progressive spirit could not be con- 
tented with such surroundings. They longed for 
the comforts that they had left in their homeland, 
but as they began to use what they had, they found 
that a great opportunity was before them to do 
whatever they most desired. The great, tall, and 
beautifully formed forest trees furnished excellent 
material with which to build houses. They made 

their own brick and 
used them in building 
the great chimneys 
which were usually 
placed near the mid- 
dle of the house. A 
few houses were built 
entirely of brick, but 
they were looked upon 
almost as palaces. 

It would be inter- 
esting if we could visit 
with one of these col- 
onists as he entertainingly tells of his house with 
its large hall and rooms on each side, and of the 
rare old pieces of furniture which he had brought 
across the sea. With what pride he would open 
the great chest filled with expensive clothing which 
■his family had inherited, for in those times fash- 
ions did not change as rapidly as now and it was 




SPINNING FLAX 



The; Thirtkivn Colonie;s 133 

not uncommon for richly embroidered garments to 
be ke23t in a family for many years. Clothing was 
often willed the same as land or other property. 

In the Southern colonies the people lived on 
great plantations. One man would often own 
many hundreds of acres of land. Sometimes the 
grounds about the home were so extensive that a 
live-oak lane a mile long would lead from the outer 
gate to the house. The work on these great planta- 
tions was done mostly by negro slaves, who lived 
in houses which had been built for them. At this 
time in the development of our country, negro 
slaves were held in almost all of the colonies. 

Many white men had* been brought here from 
England, who were bound to rich planters to work 
for a certain number of years. 

In the Middle colonies the homes in many ways 
resembled the old homes that they had left. The 
Dutch mansion was usually built of brick, with a 
gable end facing the street. The front door Avas 
decorated with a heavy brass knocker, which was 
daily polished. About their homes they planted 
many of the gay-colored flowers which they had 
loved in Holland. Every family kept a cow, and 
the tinkling bells at morning and evening as the 
cows went and came from the common pasture, 
suggested the milking time. We shall always be 
grateful to those early Dutch settlers for introduc- 
ing into our country the happy Christmas cus- 



134 



Growth and Di<;vklopment 



toms, the colored Easter eggs, and the New Year 
visiting. 

The New England home was very plain. There 
was no trace of the royal style of living which was 
noticeable in the Southern colonies. They brought 
with them many of the Old English customs and 




AN EARLY MEETING HOUSE 



names which they loved; but most of all they en- 
joyed their freedom to worship God as they 
pleased. Their laws were very strict, and they 
were especially careful about what they did on 
Sunday. They did not have bells for their 
churches, but a man stood on the door-step and 



The; Thirte;e;n Colonies 125 

called the people together with the tap of a driirii. 
Everybody was compelled to attend church on Sun- 
day and every man was armed with a gun, so that 
the colonists were always prepared in case the 
Indians should attack them. 

The men were seated on one side of the room 
and the women and the girls on the other, while 
the boys were given a place by themselves. Peo- 
ple were not allowed to nod in 
church, for there was a watchman 
who carried a wand tijDped at one 
end with the foot of a rabbit and 
at the other with the tail; and the 
men and boys, who were found 
napping, were gently tapped with 
the heavy end of this stick, while 
the women were reminded of their ^ , . , ,^ 

Colonial Dame ^\ ho 

duty by gentlv tickling their fore- was Fined for Ab- 

1 J -xi j.i*' T 1 i_ 1 J? J.1 sence from Church 

heads with the lighter end oi the 
same stick. Their Sunday began at sunset Satur- 
day and lasted till sunset Sunday. 

The boys and girls of those far away days could 
not look forward to a university education, al- 
though schools were early established, and when 
Boston was only six years old, the sum of two 
thousand dollars was given for a school which we 
now call Harvard University. The New England 
boys and girls had to work hard, for the settle- 
ment of any new country requires much work ; but 




12G Growth and Development 

it was not so much their work, that has made New 
England famous, as it was the lessons of self- 
control which these young people learned. They 
had learned to put duty before pleasure, and this 
was the secret of their wonderful success. 

Most of the New England settlers lived in towns, 
and as early as 1647 every town was ordered to 
have a free school. In Connecticut, a town that 
did not keep a school at least three months in the 
year was fined. At the beginning of the eighteenth 
century, ten ministers brought together a number 
of books, each one saying as he laid down his gift, 
' ' I give these books for founding a college in Con- 
necticut." This was the beginning of Yale Col- 
lege. 

In the Middle colonies, churches of various de- 
nominations were established. The Swedes had a 
meeting house even before William Penn came 
with his Quaker brethren. The Dutch domine of 
New York was sometimes paid his salary in beaver 
skins. The schoolmaster was not so well paid. In 
order to increase his salary, he was often compelled 
to ring the church bell, dig graves, or act as town 
clerk. 

Education and churches were not neglected in 
the Southern colonies, although it was more diffi- 
cult for them to hold public gatherings on account 
of the large plantations which scattered the popu- 
lation. The}^ cared for their ministers by having 



The Thirteen Colonies 137 

a law that each minister shoukl have the use of a 
hundred acres of land, and that he should also 
have a portion of the "best and first gathered to- 
bacco." 

Many of the planters of the Southern colonies 
employed well educated men to teach their chil- 
dren. There was no system of free schools for all 
of the children, because the families Ha ed so far 
apart on the great plantations that the children 
could not meet at a common school-house as they 
could in the New^ England colonies where almost 
everybody lived in villages. 

There w^ere no steel or gold pens in those days. 
The only pens to be had were those made of goose 
quills and each person whittled out his own pen as 
best he could. 

Their use of capital letters was also quite differ- 
ent from ours. They wrote all nouns, verbs, and 
other principal w^ords of a sentence with capital 
letters. Their spelling, too, w^as peculiar. They 
did not have dictionaries to which they might go 
to find the correct spelling of words, but each one 
spelled according to his own fanc}^ The verb ''be'' 
w^as often spelled ''Bee'\ with a capital letter at 
the beginning of it. 

The same spirit of thrift and enterprise that 
showed in their business life may also be noticed in 
the school life of the boys and girls. What they 
lacked in books and school supj^lies, they made u]3 



128 Growth and Development 

by observation and careful study of the books they 
had. So well did the young people of those days 
make use of every opportunity, that not only En- 
gland, but all the world was compelled to recognize 
the intelligence and genuine worth of the rugged 
boys of what was then called the American wilder- 
ness. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Name the thirteen colonies. Write of an imaginary visit to 
the home of one of the early colonists. 
What is meant by "kindred spirits" ? 
Difificult words— hovel, opportunity, extensive, domine. 



SOMETHING TO READ 

Grandfather's Chair. — {Hazvthorne.) 
Colonial Children. — {Hart.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The children of colonial times were happy and industrious. 
They became men and women whom the world honored. 



NEW FRANCE IN AMERICA 

France Claimed the Great Interior 

While the English were busily engaged plant- 
ing their colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, 
France, a powerful country in Europe, was quietly, 
but persistently, taking possession of the great in- 




A WINTER SCENE IN NEW FRANCE 

terior of America. Because of the discoveries of 
Cartier, France claimed the St. Lawrence valley 
and planted colonies to make good her claims. Her 
bold and far-sighted explorers had carefully ex- 
amined the Great Lakes, had followed the head 

129 



130 



Growth and Development 






waters of the Wisconsin, the Illinois, and the Wa- 
bash rivers whose waters mingied. with those of 
the Mississii^pi, or the Father of Waters, as the 
Indians of the long ago called it. They had de- 
scended the great river to its month, and had there 

placed a colony to 
seal their claim to 
tlie great interior. 

In 1671, the 
Fi'enchmen formal- 
ly took possession 
of the great north- 
west. They invited 
ihe leading men of 
the Indian tribes of 
the lake region to a 
great feast. At this 
gathering many 
things were done 
for the pleasnre of the red men of the forest. They 
were entertained with games of ball and mock 
fights and they were feasted with wild fowl, abnnd- 
ance of fish, and the fruits of the season. After 
they had been feasted for several weeks, the peo- 
X)le, both Indian and French, assembled on a lofty 
hill, which overlooked the Sanlt Sainte Marie mis- 
sion. Both Indians and white men either wrote 
their names or made their marks on a piece of 
paper which was to show that France claimed all 




MAP OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST 



New France in America 131 

of the land from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of 
Mexico, and from the eastern coast of Labrador as 
far west as the land might go. They called this ter- 
ritory New France. Some thonght that it might 
extend two or three hnndred miles west of the Wis- 
consin river. A glance at your map will sliow how 
little tlie}^ knew about the territory they claimed. 
They planted a heavy wooden cross, and they set 
close beside it a wooden post with the lilies of 
France cut in it. The Frenchmen gathered around 
and chanted a Latin hymn, wliile the commander 
held up a piece of sod as a sign of their having 
taken possession. The Indian braves quietly dis- 
appeared in the forest, little understanding what 
it meant to join heart and hand with the French- 
men. 



132 Growth and Development 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did France claim the valley of the St. Lawrence river? 
Why did France claim the territory drained by the Missis- 
sippi river and its tributaries? 

Explain what was meant by the northwest. 
Difficult words — persistent, descend, chanted. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
How Our Grandfathers Lived. — (Hart.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

France claimed the land from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf 
of Mexico, and from the eastern coast of Labrador as far west 
as the land extended. 



JOLIET AND MARQUETTE 
TJ\e Missionary's Message to the Indians 

France, not unlike other countries of Europe, 
was eager to get control of as much of the New 
World as possible. Linked with her desire for ter- 
ritory, was the desire to convert the Indians to the 
Christian faith. Wherever her explorers went, 
there, too, went a Jesuit missionary; and some- 
times the duties of an explorer and of a mission- 
ary were united. 

A waterway from the Great Lakes to the Pacific 
Ocean was greatly desired, and the French believed 
that this might be found in the Mississippi; al- 
though they had long known of the discovery made 
by the great De Soto, they still believed that the 
mighty Mississippi flowed into the Pacific Ocean. 
King Louis XIV sent word to the governor of New 
France that he wished him to give attention to the 
passage to the South Sea, as they called the Pacific 
Ocean. Joliet, who had been born in New France, 
and was acquainted with the Indians, was selected 
to carry out the king's wishes. Jacques Marquette, 
a Jesuit priest, was chosen to go with the daring 
Joliet. This gave the missionary a chance to carry 
the Cross to his Indian brothers. In company with 
five other Frenchmen, these two men, so different 

133 



134 Growth and Development 

from each other, and yet so well suited to comfort 
and to sustain each other, set out in two birch 
canoes. They took with them a generous supply 
of dried corn and smoked meat. From Green bay, 
they went up the Fox river to Lake Winnebago. 
The French had never been beyond Green bay, and 
they found that they were in need of guides. They 
assembled the chiefs of three Indian nations, and 
told them that their governor had sent them to ex- 
plore new countries, and also to tell them of the 
Supreme Being, the Creator of all things. 

The Indians at first tried to discourage them 
from making these explorations by telling of the 
dangers of the great river and of the monsters that 
''devoured men and canoes together." Seeing that 
the men were determined to go, they sent two 
guides, who hel})ed them to carry the canoes across 
the country to the Wisconsin river. Then a seven 
days ' voyage brought them to the Mississippi river. 

For many days these men floated down the beau- 
tiful river until they came to an Indian village. 
As soon as the Indians knew of their arrival, four 
old men were sent to speak to them. These four 
men carried two pipes, ornamented with feathers. 
They marched slowly, and first presented their 
pipes to the sun, and then offered them to the 
strangers. Had these explorers not taken the pipes 
and at least pretended to smoke, they would have 



JOLIET AND MaROUKTTK 135 

been considered enemies; bnt now tliey were re- 
ceived as friends. They slept in the chief's hut, 
and were given belts and other articles made from 
the hides of bears and buffaloes. When they were 
about to leave, they were escorted to their canoes 
by about six hundred Indians. Father Marquette 
tells us that these Indians belonged to the Illinois 
tribe, and that the name ''Illinois," in their lan- 
guage, means ''men." He thought that they were 
the most civilized Indians he had ever seen. 

As they continued their voyage down the river, 
they heard a great rushing of water, and they saw 
small islands of floating shru])bery coming out of 
the mouth of another river which flowed from the 
northwest. Here they looked for the first time 
upon the seething, turbid waters of the IMissouri 
river, which had been gathering its yellow sand in 
its course of three thousand miles. 

They now began to believe, judging from their 
compass, that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf 
of Mexico, and not into the Gulf of California, as 
they had hoped. On and on they went, however, 
until they came to the mouth of the Arkansas rivei'. 
Here they found Indians armed with bows and 
arrows, clubs, axes, and knives, and they soon 
learned that these Indians would not hesitate to 
use them. The Indians grouped themselves in 
three parties. One party stood on the bank to pre- 
vent the Frenchmen from landing, while the other 



136 Growth and Deve;lopme;nt 

two parties plunged into the water to take posses- 
sion of the canoes. The current was so strong that 
they could, not reach the boats, so they went back 
to land. The Frenchmen then showed the pipe of 
peace; but the Indians continued to shower their 
arrows at them. At last, the Indians made signs 
for the strangers to come on shore. Although the 
explorers had fears for their safety, nevertheless, 
they rowed their canoes to the shore. 

Father Marquette spoke to the Indians in six 
different languages ; but they could not understand 
any of them. At last an old man was found who 
spoke the language of the Illinois tribe and could 
interpret for them. Marquette gave them presents 
and told them about God and the universe, and they 
became so interested that they begged the mission- 
aries to stay with them. Father Marquette and 
Joliet counseled together and decided that they 
would attempt to go no farther, for fear that they 
might be captured by the Spaniards. They had 
learned from the Indians that they were likely soon 
to reach the territory of the Spaniards, with whom 
the Indians had been trading, and from whom they 
had learned their cruel mode of warfare. 

With the two frail canoes they could not afford 
to risk an encounter with the Spaniards. After a 
day's feast, the Frenchmen began their return to 
Canada, leaving the voyage to the mouth of the 
Mississippi to another. 



JoLiET AND Marquette 137 

SUGGESTIONS 

Who were the Jesuits? 

What was the pipe of peace? 

Can you tell some Indian story about the pipe of peace? 

Difficult words — turbid, seething, escort, universe. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Pioneer of the Mississippi Valley. — (McMurray.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The influence of these two men was noticeable for many 
years in the lives of the Indians of the Mississippi valley. 



ROBERT DE LA SALLE 



He Gave the Great Mississippi Valley to Prance 

The iiniiiiislied work of Joliet and Marquette 
was taken up by La Salle wlio had been educated 
as a Jesuit. He had given up the work of a priest 
in order that he might engage in the fur trade in 
Canada. On the death of Father Marquette, La 

Salle was filled with a de- 
sire to complete the voy- 
age to the mouth of the 
Mississippi, and to plant a 
colony there. The disap- 
pointments which he met 
woidd have shaken the 
purpose of a less deter- 
mined man ; but when once 
his heart was set on doing 
a thing, he would not give 
it up. 

La Salle made three at- 
tempts to reach the Illi- 
nois river before he succeeded in doing so. After 
reaching it he passed down this river into the 
waters of the Mississippi, and then continued his 
voyage to the Gulf. In the month of April, 1682, 
he planted the standard of France at the mouth of 

138 




LA SALLE 



RouivRT DJ$ La Saline 139 

the Mississippi river, and declared tliat all the ter- 
ritory drained by the great river and its tributaries 
belonged to France ; and in honor of his king, Louis 
XIV, he named the country Louisiana. 

He was so eager to plant colonies in the valley 
of the Mississippi, that he made his way back to 
Quebec, and from there went to his old homeland to 
enlist the interest of his king in founding a colony 
at the mouth of the Mississippi. He hoped to con- 
nect this colony with those in Canada by establish- 
ing a large number of military stations along the 
Mississii^pi river. The king was well pleased with 
the plan, and fitted out for La Salle four ships car- 
rying two hundred eighty persons. 

La Salle intended to sail directly to the mouth 
of the Mississippi, but his pilot failed in this. They 
sailed beyond the mouth of the river, and finally 
landed at Matagorda on the Texas shore. One of 
the ships was lost in landing, and with it went 
down the provisions which the king had supplied 
with such a lavish hand. 

After two years of suffering and endless dis- 
putes, La Salle determined to find, if possible, the 
Mississippi, and ascend it until he might find help 
at some French missionary fort. He set out with 
sixteen companions, but they had not gone far un- 
til his companions became dissatisfied. One day 
when La Salle was only a short distance from the 
camp, two of his faithless companions fired at him 



140 Growth and Development 

from their liiding place in the tall prairie grass. 
Thus, suddenly, was cut short the life of a man who 
had done so much to extend French territory. 
Only seven of his companions lived to reach a 
French settlement. 

By this time about sixty military and trading 
posts were scattered along the great river, but the 
failure of the French to colonize the Mississippi 
valley put off, until a much later date, the develop- 
ment of one of the most productive sections of the 
North American continent. 



SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of La Salle. 

Difficult words — enlist, dissatisfied, Jesuit, lavish. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
American History Stories. — (Pratt.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

La Salle's effort to reach the mouth of the Mississippi was 
unsuccessful. He did not succeed in planting a colony at the 
mouth of the Mississippi. 



THREATENED CONFLICT BETWEEN FRENCH AND 

ENGLISH 

George IVashiiigton^ the Man of the Hour 

As we pause at the very beginning of open war- 
fare between two powerful nations contending for 
territory in the New World, a great picture rises 
before us. We can now see, as we look back, that 
the eighteenth century was one of war. It was a 
time of change from the old way of living to a new 
and better kind of life. In the background of 
this picture, we see England and France at war 
with each other in the old world, and in the fore- 
ground, their colonies in America taking up the 
quarrel. 

Nestled along the Atlantic seaboard, were the 
English colonies ; while to the north and west were 
the French colonies, fewer in numbers, but forti- 
fied with their military posts dotting the interior, 
and joined with them were many of the Indian 
tribes. 

The English claimed this territory because of 
the discoveries made by the Cabots. The French 
also laid claun to much of the same territory 
claimed by the English because the daring and self- 
sacrificing La Salle had follow^ed the Mississippi 

141 



142 Growth and Dkvelopment 

river to its inoutli, and in the name of France had 
claimed the interior of the continent. 

Both countries found it profitable to engage in 
the fur trade with the Indians in the region north 
of the Ohio river. George II, King of England, 
granted to a company of leading men of Virginia 
a tract of five hundred thousand acres of land lo- 
cated north of the Ohio river. The association was 
called the Ohio Company; and even before this 
company could arrange to send out a colony to 
occupy the land, the French governor of Canada 
sent three hundred men to occupy this same terri- 
tory. Both the English and the French really 
acted as though all of the fur bearing animals of 
this great continent were gathered together in the 
country north of the Ohio river; but they were in 
truth getting ready to settle the question as to who 
should own the territory between the Mississippi 
river and the Appalachian mountains. 

This was a critical time for both the English and 
the French in America. Men of courage and of 
wisdom were needed. There lived in Virginia, a 
young man who possessed the qualities of noble 
manliood. He was born of good English ancestry 
on the 22nd of February, 1732, in a plain country 
home whicli overlooked the Potomac river. His 
parents, Augustine and Mary Washington, gave 
him the plain and unassuming name, George. We 
have learned to love the name of George Washing- 



French and English 143 

tou, not because there is anything unusual about 
the name, but because of the sterling qualities of 
character which this boy possessed. 

When George was about three years old, his 
father moved to another ])lantation in Virginia 
whicli lay along the Rap])ahannock river, near 
Fredericksburg. Here was his l)03^1iood home; 
here he had the meadows for his playground ; and 
here he learned to ride, an accomplishment which 
served him S(^ well in the work which he was after- 
wards called upon to do. He went to school at an 
''old field school-house." The school was tauglit 
by one of his father's tenants, named "Hobby." 
An elder brother, Lawrence, returned from school 
in England when George was seven or eight years 
old. To the younger brother, Lawrence was a model 
to be looked up to, and seems to have aroused in the 
younger brother, that military spirit which had 
been a trait of the Washingtons for many genera- 
tions. George saw his brother fitted out for mili- 
tary life in the West Indies. This so impressed 
him that his games at school took on a military air. 
His schoolmates became soldiers who were sent 
here and there, at his command. 

When he was ten years old, his father died. 
George had been away from home on a visit, and 
reached his father's bedside just in time to receive 
his parting message. From that hour, new duties 
came into his life. His mother, who was a sensible 



144 Growth and Development 

woman, carefully trained her children and early 
taught them the worth of true manhood and of 
noble womanhood. 

His training was practical, and, even as a boy, 
he was accurate and ^persevering. The books which 
he used and the records which he made are models 
of neatness. He always found time to do well 
whatever he had to do. AVhen he was sixteen, he 
went to live with his brother, Augustine, in order 
that he might attend a better school. His associa- 
tion with his elder brother, who had been trained 
in England, was a great help to him. 

He early showed a taste for surveying, or the 
measuring of land. This was attractive work for 
a boy who loved to live in the open air. Although 
George's father had left to each of his children 
what now seems a large tract of land, yet, in those 
early days the land yielded only a moderate in- 
come. Virginia was then a part of a great wilder- 
ness, and the landowners scarcely knew where their 
property extended. The surveying of this land 
promised to become a profitable business; for the 
owners were anxious to know where to place their 
fences. Lord Fairfax, a wealthy Englishman and 
an extensive landowner, who was acquainted with 
the young Virginian, offered him employment to 
help survey the Fairfax estate. 

The climbing of mountains, wading of swamps, 
fording of rivers, sleeping on the half-frozen 



French and English 145 

ground, and plunging through thickets and under- 
brush in drenching rains, by no means made a 
pleasure-trip; but so thoroughly did young 
Washington do his part of the work, that, when he 
handed his report to Lord Fairfax, his future suc- 
cess as a surveyor was assured. The wealthy En- 
glishman was so well pleased with his work that 
the next year he helped young Washington to se- 
cure a license as a surveyor. For three years, 
Washington followed surveying as a business, and 
it is said that no error was ever found in his work, 
and that some of his surveys are still authority for 
a part of the boundaries of Virginia. 

During his life as a surveyor, Washington 
learned much about the life of the frontier settlers, 
and of the character and habits of the Indians. He 
became so familiar with the country that he could 
find his wa}^ through trackless forests. He learned 
to interpret the things about him and to use them 
to help hhn in his work. Such habits of observa- 
tion may seem unimportant in the life of a young 
man who is some day to be a leader of men, but 
they were the things by which Washington wrought 
success where others met with failure. 

The trouble between the English and the French 
continued to increase. They both tried to gain the 
friendship of the Indians. The English sent to 
England for goods that would please the Indians. 
The French, also, tried to win them to their side, 

10 



146 



Growth and Development 



and many of the tribes toward the north united 
with the French. The Indians living in the dis- 
puted territory found leaden plates which the 
French had either nailed to trees or buried in the 
ground. It was written on these plates that aU 
this territory belonged to France. The Indians 
gazed in amazement at these strange plates ; at last 
they solved their meaning. 
They said, "They mean to steal 
our country from us"; so they 
decided to join the English. It 
was fortunate for the English 
that they so decided, for they 
could greatly help them in spy- 
ing out the enemy, and in act- 
ing as guides through the for- 
est. A messenger from the 
Miami tribe assured the gover- 
nor of Pennsylvania that their friendship for the 
English "would last while the sun and moon ran 
around the world." The messenger gave the gov- 
ernor three strings of wampum. 

The English wisely made their settlements south 
of the Ohio river and east of the land claimed by 
the Indians. This gave them an opportunity to 
trade with the Indians and obtain the rich furs 
which both the French and the Enghsh so much 
desired. The French were not so prudent, but 
built their forts within the territory still claimed 




THE HALF-KING 



French and English 147 

by the Indians. The old Half-King of the western 
tribes once went to the French fort on Lake Erie 
and complained to them, saying: "Fathers, you 
are disturbers in this land by building to^nas. We 
kindled a fire a long time ago at Montreal, where 
we desired you to stay. I now advise you to return 
to that place; for this land is ours." The French 
commander rej)lied to him: *'I tell you that down 
that river I will go, and build upon it. My force 
is as the sand upon the seashore. Therefore, here 
is your wampum ; I fling it at you." The old man, 
disappointed and injured at the defiant manner 
and threats of the Frenchman, returned to the En- 
glish for protection. 

News of what the French were doing finally 
reached Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia. He at 
once decided to send a messenger to the French 
commander, demanding an explanation. He wanted 
a man who was strong and brave, one who under- 
stood the red men, and who could cope with the 
white men. He found these requirements in the 
youthful George Washington; although Washing- 
ton was only twenty-one years of age, he selected 
him for this important mission. 

Washington had but little military training, but 
he understood that the first duty of a good soldier 
was obedience ; he immediately began to get ready 
for his dangerous journey. On the last day of 
October, 1753, he started for the French fort on 



148 Growth and Development 

Lake Erie. He was attended by four experienced 
woodsmen, by an interpreter, and by Christopher 
Gist, one of the best guides in Virginia. To-day, 
when we can flash a message across the country 
by wire, and can travel with such speed in beauti- 
fully upholstered cars, we cannot fully value the 
courage of a young man who would undertake to 
go to the camp of an enemy through a trackless 
forest filled with lurking Indians. Washington, 
however, was undaunted. When he reached the 
Youghiogheny river, he divided his party into two 
groups; two men went down the river in a canoe 
to where Pittsburg now stands; while the rest of 
the party took the horses over a roundabout trail 
that kept away from the river. When they met 
at the place where the rivers unite to form the 
Ohio, they were still far from the French fort. A 
runner was sent to tell the Indians that the En- 
glish were their friends and to invite the chiefs to 
a council. When the Indians assembled, Wash- 
ington told them that he would protect them from 
the French, and asked that they would help him 
to reach the French fort. After they had ex- 
changed gifts with each other, Washington con- 
tinued his march, accompanied by the Half-King, 
and by two other chiefs. 

At last, they arrived at the French fort, and 
Washington was received with true French polite- 
ness by the commander, St. Pierre. On receiving 



French and English 149 

the letter, the commander and his officers retired 
to a private room to translate Governor Dinwid- 
dle's message into the French language. It was 
two days before St. Pierre delivered to Washing- 
ton his sealed reply. Those hours spent in waiting 
had not been wasted by Major Washington, as the 
governor had called him in the letter; for he had 
carefully noted the plan and strength of the fort, 
and had made a record of the number of canoes 
which they either had in readiness or which they 
were making to carry their troops down the river 
as soon as si3ring came. 

It was with difficulty that Washington per- 
suaded his Indian companions to return with him. 
The French did everything in their power to break 
the friendship between the Indians and the En- 
glish. They feasted and gave them gifts; but 
Washington's tact finally prevailed, and he set out 
on his return with his little company. They found 
the river full of floating ice, and their frail canoes 
were in danger of being driven upon rocks. At 
Fort Venango, Washington left the river to go by 
land. It was Christmas day and they still had a 
long journey before them. 

Washington saw the uselessness of trying to 
urge the horses through the deep snow. Therefore 
he dismounted, dressed himself in an Indian hunt- 
ing suit, strapped his pack of provisions and valu- 
able papers to his back, and, taking his gun in 



150 Growth and Di;ve;lopment 

hand, started on foot with Gist, his trusted guide 
as his only companion. They had not gone far 
when they met some Indians who appeared to be 
friendly; so they decided to hire one of them to 
act as a guide. The Indian gladly consented, and 
took Washington's pack upon his back. 

After they had gone eight or ten miles, they be- 
came distrustful of the Indian, fearing that he in- 
tended to lead them into an ambush. They watched 
him closely, and just as they were coming out of a 
thick tangle of woods into an open meadow, the In- 
dian, who was about fifteen steps ahead, quickly 
turned and fired at them. He then hid behind a 
large oak tree where Washington and his guide 
caught him as he was preparing to reload his gun. 
Washington would not allow his companion to 
harm the Indian; but they sent him to his home 
which he said was not far away. Gist followed him 
a short way and listened until he could no longer 
hear the sound of his footsteps on the snow. They 
traveled as fast as they could all that night and the 
next day, until late in the evening, when they again 
reached the Allegheny river. 

Washington had expected to find the river frozen 
over ; but instead, he found great blocks of ice float- 
ing in it. With one poor hatchet, they began to 
make a raft. They worked all the next day, but 
it was growing dark before the raft was completed. 
Fearing lest Indians had followed their trail, they 



French and English 151 

determined to cross the river. Their raft was 
caught by the ice, and Washington, in trying to 
keep the ice from wrecking the raft, was hurled 
into the water, and saved himself by clinging to 
one of the logs of the raft. They made their way 
to a small island where they spent the night. The 
next morning the river was frozen so that they 
could cross on the ice, and before night they were 
in the comfortable quarters of an Indian trader. 
They pressed forward and were able, on the six- 
teenth of January, to deliver the reply of the 
French commander to Governor Dinwiddle. Thus 
was completed the first public service of Washing- 
ton, but it was not the last ; for within three months 
he was promoted to be a lieutenant-colonel. 



153 



Growth and Development 



SUGGESTIONS 

Why was this a critical time for the English? 

Write a story about the boyhood of Washington, 

Why was Washington chosen to carry the message to the 
French general? 

How long did it take Washington to make his trip to the 
French fort and to bring the reply of the French commander 
to Governor Dinwiddie? 

Difficult words — attractive, authority, defiant, protection, 
cope, prudent, attended, lurking, tact, ambush. 



SOMETHING TO READ 

(Mabic.) 



Heroes Every Child Should Know. 
George Washington.— (Scudder.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

George Washington was accurate in all his work. At twenty- 
one years of age the governor of his colony sent him with an 
important message. 



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 
A Training School for Colonial Soldiers 

The reply of the French coininauder was such 
as might be expected. He stated that he was there 
by order of his general, and that he did not intend 
to listen to the request of the English to leave the 
territory. Nothing remained, therefore, but to set- 
tle the question by might of arms. Governor Din- 
widdle appealed to the governors of other colonies 
for help, but the idea of the colonies helping one 
another was not well received. They had, as yet, 
not understood the meaning of the saying, "In 
union there is strength." 

Washington was sent with four hundred men to 
build a fort at the forks of the Ohio river. He 
had previously mentioned this location in his re- 
port to Governor Dinwiddle. He was told by the 
governor to drive away anyone who attempted to 
disturb the English settlers in that part of the 
country. After great exertion, he came to an open 
space in the western part of Pennsylvania called 
"Great Meadows." He learned that the French 
were on their way to meet him. A fort was quickly 
formed which he named Fort Necessity. Wash- 
ington decided to surprise the French. A faithful 
Indian led him and his men to a low bottom where 

153 



154 Growth and Development 

the French lay encamped. As soon as the French 
caught sight of them, they rushed for their arms. 
Washington gave the command, "Fire," and the 
first shots of the great French and Indian war 
brought death to the French leader and to ten of 
his party. 

Although this first attack had put to rout the 
French, yet Washington understood that his little 
band of four hundred men could not withstand the 
great army which the French had gathered to- 
gether. He withdrew as quickly as possible to 
Fort Necessity. The French followed him, and 
placed their soldiers on elevated ground and even 
in trees, so that they could fire down upon the En- 
glish within the fort. For nine hours during a 
drenching rain, the French kept up an unceasing 
fire upon the men within the fort. 

At last the French commander suggested that 
they cease firing until Washington could send one 
of his officers to learn the terms of surrender. 
These terms were written in French and had to be 
translated into English; as no writing materials 
were at hand they were translated orally. A candle 
was brought and held close to the paper, but the 
rain fell in such torrents that it was difficult to 
keep the flickering light from being put out. Wash- 
ington realized that his men could not hold out 
much longer, and with a few changes, he accepted 
the terms of an honorable surrender. On the 



French and Indian War 155 

fourth day of July, a day afterwards memorable in 
the history of our country, AVashington and his 
men carrying their colors, marched out of the fort, 
and withdrew from that territory. 

England now realized that if she were to hold 
the land w^est of the Allegheny mountains, she must 
have more than a handful of soldiers on the fron- 
tier. It w^as decided to send at once soldiers from 
England and to enlist as many men from the col- 
onies as possible. General Edward Braddock of 
England was placed in command. He was a brave 
man, but he knew nothing about Indian warfare. 
AVhen Washington suggested that the Virginia 
rangers, Avho were familiar with the country and 
used to the Indian manner of fighting be placed 
in the lead, Braddock declined; he was too proud 
to listen to the advice of a colonist. 

The troops under the command of General Brad- 
dock were then marching to attack the French at 
Fort Duquesne. The French and Indians were 
hidden on both sides of the line of march, behind 
trees and rocks. The British regulars had marched 
into their trap and were thrown into confusion. 
The Indian war-whoop was more terrifying to 
them than the whizzing of bullets; but not nearly 
so deadly. Braddock would not give up his plan 
of forming his men in military style, and on this 
account they w^ere mowed down by the l)ullets from 
behind the trees. 



156 



Growth and Di;velopment 






Washington did all that he could to carry out his 
general's plans. Two horses were that day shot 
from under him, and four bullets passed through 
his clothes. In his eagerness to turn the tide of 
battle, he leaped from his horse and himself 
wheeled about one of the cannons and then fired 
it; but the engagement was hopeless. Braddock, 
^— ^_^ himself, was mortally 

wounded. Washington 
gathered together the 
shattered forces of the 
Virginia rangers, and 
skillfully managed the 
retreat of the defeated 
army. 

For two years the 
French gained victory 
after victory. At last 
there came a change in 
the management of the 
English government. William Pitt, a member of 
the English Parliament and a strong friend of the 
American colonists, began to dictate the policies of 
the war ; for war it now was to the bitter end. One 
fort after another was taken from the French, un- 
til the entire Ohio valley was in the possession of 
the English. 

The British commanders, now that they had 
driven the French from the contested territory, de- 




GENERAL, WOLFE 



French and Indian War 157 

termined to compel them to give up all of their ter- 
ritory in America. They took several of the 
strongholds along the Canadian border, and at last 
decided to get possession of Quebec, the strong- 
hold of Canada. Wolfe, the English commander, 
succeeded in taking his army several miles up the 
St. Lawrence river without the French knowing it. 
He had discovered a path leading up the steep cliffs 
to the Plains of Abraham at the rear of Quebec. 
At the dead of night, his flat-bottomed boats carry- 
ing the British regulars silently floated down with 
the current. 

As they came near the French fort, one of the 
sentinels cried out, *'Who goes there T' A captain 
in the first boat who understood the French lan- 
guage answered, ''The French," and the boats 
glided on without further questions. They came to 
a place which is now called Wolfe's Cove. Gen- 
eral Wolfe was one of the first to climb the steep 
and narrow path. His soldiers followed him, help- 
ing themselves by holding to the roots and branch- 
es. At break of day his soldiers were in military 
array on the Plains of Abraham. The French com- 
mander, Montcalm, was amazed when he learned 
that the English were ready to attack Quebec at 
its weakest side. 

The battle was begun without delay. Both the 
English and the French commanders met death on 
that eventful day. General Wolfe, who had so gal- 



158 Growth and Development 

lantly led his soldiers had been twice wounded 
when at the moment of success the third ball struck 
him and he sank to the earth. An attendant lean- 
ing over him said, ''They run." ''Who runs?" 
questioned Wolfe, as if roused from sleep. "The 
French, sir, they give way everywhere." "Now, 
I will die in peace," said the expiring man. 

Montcalm, while trying to rally his regiments, 
was also struck with a ball and fell to mingle his 
life's blood with that of General Wolfe. When told 
by his physician that he could live only a few 
liours, he replied, ' ' So much the better, I shall not 
live to see the surrender of Quebec." 

Five days after the battle, the English took pos- 
session of Quebec. This virtually ended the war 
and New France passed away, but it was not until 
several years later that, by a treaty of peace signed 
at Paris, France gave to England all of her posses- 
sions east of the Mississippi, except the island 
where New Orleans now stands. To Spain she 
transferred all of her territory west of the Missis- 
sippi. As the French minister signed the treaty 
that shut France out of North America, he said: 
"So we are gone; it will be England's turn next." 



French and Indian War 159 

SUGGESTIONS 

Name some things which showed Washington's wisdom. 

Who was General Wolfe? 

Tell how Quebec was captured. 

Difficult words — parliament, dictate, policy, transfer. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The French and Indian war trained the colonial men for 
service in the Revolution. 



REVOLUTION 

THE GROWTH OF INDEPENDENCE 

"We day by day by trifles learn, 
To do life's greater deeds." 

— Bingham. 

Just as boys and girls do not remember exactly 
when they put away the toys of their babyhood, 
and as men and women cannot tell just when they 
ceased to look to their parents for guidance, so in 
some such way the thirteen colonies outgrew their 
dependence upon the mother country. 

The great distance from England, and the slow 
way of sending their messages had forced the col- 
onists to think and to act for themselves. Many 
things had happened which weakened the tie be- 
tween the mother country and the colonists. Al- 
ready England had said that the colonists could 
not ship anything except to English markets, and 
all the manufactured goods that they needed must 
be bought in England. They were not, therefore, 
allowed to buy from any foreign country. What- 
ever they might need that England could not pro- 
duce must first be sent to England and then shipped 
from England to the colonies. England claimed 
the right to control everything. Even the trees in 

160 



Growth of Independe;nce 161 

the forest were inspected, and those which Avould 
make timber suitable for ships were marked, and 
any colonist who cut one of these trees was pun- 
ished. 

The mother country did not want her subjects 
to manufacture anything. They could cultivate 
the soil, but to make anything useful was forbid- 
den. Some of the colonists began to make woolen 
goods, but they were checked by not being allowed 
to send their goods to any other colony; neither 
could they send them to England, nor to any other 
country. Hats and caps were not allowed to be 
made, because there were so many beaver and fur 
bearing animals in America that they thought the 
colonies would soon be able to supply all England 
with hats and caps. 

In Pennsylvania the people were anxious to do 
something with their iron ore of which they had 
such abundance; but no, they must either leave it 
in the ground, or send it to England to be made 
into articles of use, and then the manufactured 
articles could be sold to the colonists. Finally, 
England said that all of the iron works in the col- 
onies must be closed, and that any that might after- 
wards be opened should be destroyed as "nui- 
sances. ' ' 

In New England, where the soil was less produc- 
tive than in the other colonies, the jDeople were com- 
pelled to depend upon their fisheries and their 
11 



162 Revolution 

manufactured goods in order to make a living. 
Here it was that England kept a careful watch that 
her laws were obeyed, and here it was that the first 
outbreak of the great revolution was to take place. 

SUGGESTIONS 

How did England check the development of the colonies? 

Why did she want to do this? 

Difficult words — discussion, nuisance, productive. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
American History Stories, Vol. 2. — (Pratt.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The colonists were not allowed to engage in manufacture. 
The colonists were not allowed to buy goods from any country 
except England. 



THE STAMP ACT 



The Cause of the First Colonial Assembly 

In England discussions were held in Parliament 
about the colonies in America. The great question 
was whether the mother country had the right to 
levy taxes on the American col- 
onies without allowing the colon- 
ists to send one of their number 
to represent them in the English 
Parliament. The king needed 
money to pay the debt caused by 
the last war with the French. 
He believed that the colonists 
should bear their part in main- 
taining the English government, 
and in keeping soldiers in the 
colonies to defend the settlers from Indian upris- 
ings and attacks from the French. It seemed to 
him only fair that the colonies should share the 
burden which ParUament had made for their pro- 
tection. 

The colonists might not have objected to the re- 
quest that they should bear a part of England's 
burdens if the)^ had been allowed a voice in decid- 
ing what part of the debt they should pay. But 

163 




SHILLING STAMP 



164 REVOLUTION 

the mother country insisted on fixing the taxes 
without consulting the colonists. When she real- 
ized that she could not get the colonists to pay the 
proposed taxes in any other Avay, she planned "The 
Stamp Act" to force them to do something that 
they would not willingly do. 

Fifty-four different kinds of stamps were made 
in England, and these were put on all kinds of 
paper which the colonists wanted to 
use. They were to be placed on their 
newspapers, their notes, their mort- 
gages, and almost every kind of legal 
paper. The colonists said that it was 
unjust to ask them to pay taxes and 
at the same time to srive them no 

STAMP ^ 

voice in their government. It was 
principle for which they contended, and it is prin- 
ciple for which men everywhere will give even their 
lives. 

In August, 1765, joackages of stamps and of 
stamped paper were sent from England, and the 
names of the men who were to sell the stamps 
were published in the newspapers. The day on 
which the act was to go into effect was one of great 
excitement. In Philadelphia and Boston, bells 
rang as for a funeral, and the people called it the 
death knell of their liberty. In New York the peo- 
ple marched in a procession, and carried a banner 
on which was a copy of the Stamp Act and the 




The Stamp Act 165 

words ''The folly of England and the ruin of Amer- 
ica." There was an old elm tree in Boston which 
stood at one corner of Essex street. Early in the 
morning two figures were seen hanging from the 
branches of the lower limbs of this tree. These 
had been jDut there by the "Sons of Liberty," a 
society that was solemnly pledged to oppose the en- 
forcement of the Stamp Act law. These figures or 
effigies were dressed as real men. One Avas meant 
to be Andrew Oliver, a gentleman belonging to one 
of the most respected families in Massachusetts, 
and who had been apj^ointed by the king as a stamp 
officer ; the other represented the earl of Bute, who^ 
it was believed, had advised the king to tax Amer- 
ica. 

In the evening the Sons of Liberty cut down 
these effigies, and a large but orderly crowd fol- 
lowed a bier bearing the figures. As the throng 
marched through the streets, they shouted, ''Lib- 
erty, Property, and no Stamps. ' ' They stopped be- 
fore the state-house, where the governor and offi- 
cers of the king were in session, and then they 
marched directly to the house which Oliver had in- 
tended for his stamp office. They tore this down 
and kindling a bonfire, they burned the effigies. 
"Death to the man who offers stamped paper to 
sell I ' ' they shouted. 

The English officer ordered his militia colonel 
to beat an alarm; but the colonel replied, "My 



166 Revolution 

drummers are in the mob." When the officer tried 
to disperse the crowd, they forced him to run the 
gauntlet after the Indian fashion, and actually gave 
him several raps as he ran. Oliver, the stamp offi- 
cer, promptly resigned his office. One after an- 
other of the colonies refused to accept the Stamp 

Act till fi n a 1 1 y , every 
stamp officer was forced to 
resign. The stamped 
paper which had been 
brought over was either 
destroyed or put away out 
of sight. For a time, all 
business requiring stamps 
was at a stand-still. 

Up to this time, the col- 
onies did very little busi- 
ness with one another. 
There had never been a 
meetino: of representatives 

WILLIAM PITT ^ \ 

from each of the colon- 
ies. The Stamii Act, however, tended to draw the 
colonies more closely together, because they now 
began to feel that they had a common interest, and 
when the legislature of Massachusetts sent a letter 
to each of the other colonies asking them to send 
representatives to a general congress to provide a 
way to resist the Stamp Act, nine of the colonies 
sent delegates to represent them. 




The Stamp Act 167 

This Congress prepared a petition to King 
George III, asking that the unjust Stamp Act be 
repealed, and that the colonists be given the rights 
and liberties of the subjects of Great Britain. 
When the petition was read before the English 
Parliament, a stormy debate followed. William 
Pitt, who was a member of Parliament, had kept 
himself Avell informed about the colonists. He real- 
ized how much the colonists prized their liberty, 
their property, and their rights as citizens. Al- 
though he was an old man and in feeble health, yet 
his speeches before Parliament did much to help 
the struggling colonists. He claimed that England 
had no right to lay a tax on the colonists without 
allowing them to have a representative in Parlia- 
ment. He said that they were entitled to all the 
rights and privileges of Englishmen. England 
finally decided to tell the colonists that she would 
repeal the Stamp Act, but that she would retain 
the right to make laws that would be binding on 
the colonies ' ' in all cases whatsoever. ' ' 

When news came that the Stamp Act had been 
repealed, there was great rejoicing in America. 
Bonfires were lighted, joy-bells were rung, and the 
various legislatures sent messages of thanks to the 
king. Everybody was in a happy mood ; the quar- 
rel was ended. Little attention was given to the 
right which England reserved to make laws for 



1(58 Revolution 

the colonies ; but this right was the source of future 
troubles. 

SUGGESTIONS 

What was the Stamp Act? 

Why did England want to tax the colonists? 

Name some of the ways by which the people showed their 
dislike of the Stamp Act. 

Difficult words — principle, contend, gauntlet, bier, militia, 
appropriate, petition, knell, effigy, disperse. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
American History Stories, Vol. 2. — (Pratt.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The colonists sent a petition to the king of England asking 
that the Stamp Act be repealed. England did repeal the Stamp 
Act, but she reserved the right to make laws for the colonies 
that would be binding on them in all cases whatsoever. 



BOSTON, THE CENTER OF ACTIVITIES 
Boston Tea Party, December,, ///j 

While the colonists were busy with their work, 
and happy in the thought that they would always 
be treated just as the people in England were 
treated, the English were planning how they could 
lay a tax upon the colonists to which they would 
not object. They decided to place a tax on the 
things which they knew the colonists would want 
to buy, such as glass, paper, white lead, painter's 
colors, and tea. They were careful to include tea, 
for they knew that the people of America were 
fond of tea; therefore, they said that the Ameri- 
cans should pay as a special tax or duty, six cents 
for every pound of tea which they bought. 

As soon as the colonists heard of the new law, 
they w^ere filled with indignation. Their news- 
papers of which there were then twenty-five, urged 
the people to stand for their rights. England 
thought it best to be prepared to enforce this law ; 
accordingly, she ordered two regiments of troops 
to be sent from Halifax to Boston; for she said, 
''If any province is to be chastised it is Boston." 
The people refused to give the soldiers either food 
or lodging, so General Gage was compelled to make 
his camp on the Boston Common. Some of the sol- 

169 



170 Revolution 

diers were taken to Faneuil Hall. When the 
weather became too cold for outdoor camping, some 
of their soldiers escaped and went into the country, 
so the English officer was compelled to rent houses 
for those who remained loyal. Boston was under 
military rule, but there was nothing for the sol- 
diers to do. The peace-loving people of Massa- 
chusetts did not enjoy having soldiers stationed 
among them; but they were determined that they 
would not be the first to stir up trouble. 

The people quietly but persistently refused to 
buy English goods. A society called tlie "Daugh- 
ters of Liberty" was organized. One day thirty or 
forty young ladies took their spinning wheels 
to the minister's home, and spun two hundred 
thirty-two skeins of yarn. It was no uncommon 
thing to see wealthy and influential men dressed in 
cloth that had been made at home. At the after- 
noon teas, the ladies no longer used the imported 
tea, but instead used the dried leaves of the rasp- 
berry. 

All England seemed to be watching Boston ; but 
there was still no reason to attack it. The soldiers 
were a constant menace to the people. One wintry 
CA^ening a crowd gathered where the soldiers were 
stationed. It was a noisy, boisterous crowd ; but no 
one was armed. There had been quarrels and 
brawls on the streets. One boy had been struck 



Boston, Center of Activities 171 

on the head; several times guns had been leveled; 
soldiers had said that they would fire. 

Removed as we are over one liundred forty 
years from the scene of that terrible night, we can 
scarcely imagine the taunts and jeers that were 
heard on both sides. ' ' Fire if you dare ! ' ' said the 
colonists; "You dare not fire!" At last some one 
struck a soldier's gun. The soldier leveled his gun 
and fired. One after another the soldiers fired un- 
til eleven New Englanders lay stretched upon the 
newly fallen snow, some wounded, others dead or 
dying. The first blood of the Revolution had been 
shed. 

When the news of this occurrence reached En- 
gland, Parliament decided to do away with all of 
the taxes except the tax on tea. '^ Surely," it was 
said, "no one would object to paying a small tax 
on tea." In order to make this tax acceptable to 
the colonists, the English reduced the price of tea 
so that even with the tax added tea was cheaper in 
America than it was in England. But it was not 
the money which annoyed the colonists; it was a 
principle for which they were contending. The 
colonists said that the right to levy a small tax im- 
plied the right to levy a greater tax. 

The other colonies sympathized with Massachu- 
setts, and were willing to help her in any way that 
they could. Words of cheer came from the other 
colonies. The men in Philadelphia wrote to the 



172 



Revolution 



men in Boston saying, "Our only fear is lest you 
may shrink. May God give you virtue enough to 
save the liberties of our country. ' ' Had the colon- 
ists of Philadelphia known their neighbors better, 
they would not have feared the outcome. 

In order to carry out the plan of collecting a tax 
on tea, England sent one of her vessels laden with 

tea for the American 
colonists. When this 
vessel came into the 
harbor at Boston, a 
mass meeting was 
called at Faneuil hall, 
often called the cradle 
of liberty ; but this 
hall could not hold all 
the people who gath- 
e r e d ; therefore the 
meeting was ad- 
journed to the Old 
South meeting house. 
It was voted without a 
single objection that 
the tea should be re- 
turned to England in 
the same ship which brought it. A night w^atch of 
twenty-five men was set to guard the vessel. Two 
or three days later, other ships arrived, and they 
also were told that they could not land. The En- 





OLD SOUTH CHURCH 



Boston, Center of Activities 173 

glish officers at the custom house would not give 
the vessels a return pass, and they dared not leave 
the harbor without a pass. 

The next day there was another mass meeting, 
and it was again voted that the vessels could not 
unload. What was to be done I This was a most 
critical moment. It had now grown dark, and the 
old cliurch was dimly lighted with flickering can- 
dles. Messengers were sent to the governor, who 
had gone to his home several miles away. When 
the,y returned they said that the governor had also 
refused to give a pass for the vessels. Samuel 
Adams, who has been called "The Father of the 
Revolution," arose and quietly announced, "This 
meeting can do nothing more to save the country. ' ' 

Scarcely had he finished speaking when a war- 
whoop was given outside the door, and fifty men 
dressed as Mohawk Indians filed down to the land- 
ing. The crowd gathered at the wharf and noise- 
lessly, almost breathlessly, listened to the click, 
click of the hammers, while the tea in three hun- 
dred forty-two chests mingled with the briny 
water. 

At Charleston, the colonists likewise refused to 
receive the tea. They stored it in a cellar, and 
afterward sold it for the benefit of the revolution- 
ary cause. In Philadelphia, five thousand men ar- 
ranged to have the tea which had been shipped to 
them returned to England immediately. 



174 Revolution 

When Great Britain, as the colonists now called 
the mother country, learned what had been done, 
she was angry, and determined to have revenge. 
She ordered Boston harbor closed so that no goods 
or supplies of any kind could be either received or 
sent away. Then she demanded that the charter 
of Massachusetts be taken away. 

These acts affected all the colonies; for they 
claimed that if Great Britain had the right to close 
a harbor and to take away the charter from one 
(iolony, she could do the same to all of the colonies. 
Accordingly they rallied to the help of Massachu- 
setts. The Southern colonies sent rice, New York 
sent bread-stuffs, while all of the colonies sent of 
their plenty and also messages of good cheer. 

In September, 1774, delegates from twelve of the 
colonies met in Philadelphia. Georgia was not 
represented, but sent words of hearty sympathy. 
This meeting was called the First Continental Con- 
gress. They sent a petition to the king asking that 
the differences between the colonies and the mother 
country be settled. They also adopted a resolution 
that they would not carry on any trade with Great 
Britain until these differences were settled, and 
further that the colonies would act together in re- 
sisting British oppression. Before they adjourned 
they arranged for a second Congress, in case they 
should need to meet again. When the English Par- 
liament received the petition, it appointed General 



Boston, Center of Activities 175 

Gage to subdue the colonists and sent Mm a fleet 
and ten thousand soldiers to help him carry out his 
orders. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Give a word picture of the Boston Tea Party. 
Tell the tea story at Charleston and at Philadelphia. 
Who was Samuel Adams? 

Why did the other colonies help Massachusetts? 
Difficult words — indignation, menace, boisterous, implied, 
wharf, subdue, sympathize. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
The Boston Tea Party. — (Irving.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774. 
They resolved to carry on no trade with Great Britain. Gen- 
eral Gage was sent by England to subdue the colonists. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



An American Statesman 

At the time of the Boston Tea Party, our famous 
American, Benjamin Franklin, was sixty-seven 

years of age. He had 
counseled wisely during 
the French and Indian 
war, and had anxiously 
watched the progress of 
events tending toward 
i*e volution. His greatest 
service to his country, 
however, was given dur- 
i n g the seventeen re- 
maining years of his life. 
Franklin was the 
youngest son of a family 
o f seventeen children. 
He was born in Boston, 
January 17th, 170G, near the beginning of the 
eighteenth century — a century which was noted, as 
we shall soon learn, for great changes in the meth- 
ods of government in America. 

His father was a candle maker, a business which 
would not yield much of an income to-day, but 
which was in those days sufficient to take care of a 

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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



Benjamin Franklin 177 

large family of boys and girls. His brothers were 
sent to school until they were ten years of age, then 
they were bound out as apprentices to learn trades. 
Benjamin early gave promise of being a good schol- 
ar; when he was seven years of age he used to 
write letters in rhyme to his uncle Benjamin, who 
lived in London. When he was eight years old, he 
stood at the head of his class, and was promoted 
to higher classes twice within the same year. He 
was then placed in a school to learn writing and 
arithmetic. The first he learned easily, but he 
failed utterly in his arithmetic. Later in life he 
set himself the task of mastering the science of 
numbers; he studied algebra, geometry, and trigo- 
nometry. He learned to be accurate in the work, 
but he did not so fully enjoy the study of these 
sciences as he did the science of language. 

When he was ten years of age his father realized 
how impossible it was to give him a college educa- 
tion ; so he took Benjamin out of school to help him 
make candles. The boy soon became tired of cut- 
ting wicks and melting tallow. He heard the call 
of the sea, but his father, who already had one boy 
at sea, could not consent that his son Benjamin 
become a sailor. The father used to take long 
walks with Benjamin, visiting the bricklayers, the 
carpenters, and people of other lands of trade, 
thinking that he might find out what most inter- 
ested his son. Finally he decided that he would 

12 



178 Re;volution 

have liiin learn the trade of a cutler, a maker of 
knives and other edge-tools. In those days, when a 
boy wanted to learn a certain trade, it was neces- 
sary for the boy's parents to pay a fee for the priv- 
ilege of learning to do the work. The cutler's fee 
was one hundred dollars, and that seemed a sum 
entirely too large for his father to pay. 

His elder brother, James, was a printer, and the 
father at last decided to bind Benjamin as an ap- 
prentice to his brother. This plan did not alto- 
gether please the young Franklin; but he finally 
consented, and at the age of twelve he signed the 
papers which bound him to his brother until he 
became twent3^-one years of age. He was to re- 
ceive no pay for his work until the last year. The 
plan worked well for a time. Young Franklin 
applied himself to his work, and became a great 
help to his brother. 

Franklin now had plenty of good books to read, 
because a gentleman, who had learned to know him 
at the printing house, invited him to come to his 
library, and kindly loaned him books. His Ijrother 
had dealings with the book sellers, and these 
learned to know the younger brother so well that 
they allowed htm to take books from the book store. 
While Benjamin Franklin gave us the couplet, 

"Early to bed and early to rise, 
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," 



Benjamin Franklin 179 

lie liimself did not always follow this teaching ; for 
he nsed to sit up very late sometimes to finish read- 
ing a good book. He was fond of rhyming. It was 
popular in those days to make ballads about the 
common events of every-day life. Benjamin used 
to write in this style, and his brother would print 
his verses, and then send him out on the street to 
sell them. They found a ready sale and this en- 
couraged the boy; but his father, who was always 
his adviser, objected to what he was doing. He 
listened to the wise counsel of his father, and 
worked even harder to master his trade. His 
brother did not encourage him in his work as one 
might expect, but was fault-finding, and sometimes 
even cruel to his younger brother; for he was en- 
vious of Benjamin's increasing popularity. Our 
young friend, however, did not need much encour- 
agement, for he was determined to learn to express 
himself in good English. He used to read Addi- 
son's Spectator, and liked the book so much that 
he read it over and over; and then after two or 
three days, he re-wrote in his own language all that 
he could remember of it. He then compared what 
he had written with what he had read. 

Benjamin's brother started a newspaper in 1721, 
Avliich he called the Ncyw England C our ant. There 
was already one other paper published in America, 
and his friends told him that they did not believe 
that the C our ant could succeed, for one newspaper 



180 Revolution 

was enough for America. Benjamin was a busy 
boy lieli3ing liis brother with the Courant. He was 
office boy, printer, pressman, and newsboy all com- 
bined. Soon afterwards he decided to write some- 
thing for the paper. He wrote a "piece" and 
signed it ''Mrs. Silence Do-good." He did not 
dare to let his brother know that he had written 
it; so he changed his handwriting as much as he 
could. When he had finished this story, he put it 
in an envelope, and late one evening he slipped it 
under the door of the printing-house, and ran away 
as quickly as possible. 

Next morning as he stood at the case setting 
type, he heard his brother read the story to some 
friends. It gave the fun-loving boy great pleasure 
to listen to their comments, and to hear them name 
some of the leading men in Boston whom they 
thought most likely to be the author. 

Benjamin kept the secret until several of his ar- 
ticles had been published, then he confessed that 
he had written them. The pleasure which came to 
Benjamin from the kindly words of praise spoken 
by his brother's friends, was checked because of 
the envious way in which his brother acted. The 
brother thought that so much praise would make 
the younger brother vain. Little by little the dif- 
ferences between the two brothers increased to open 
quarrels. Their father tried to settle their dis- 



Benjamin Franklin 181 

putes, but James, the elder brother, always claimed 
that his father favored Benjamin. 

At last Benjamin decided that he could no longer 
endure his brother's harsh and unjust treatment. 
He himself declared that this was one of the rea- 
sons why he believed that too much authority 
should not be given to one person. He went to his 
brother, and told him that he could no longer work 
for him. His brother became very angry, and said, 
' ' If you do not work for me, you shall not work for 
any other printer in Boston." True enough, when 
Benjamin went to find work, he learned that his 
brother had already called upon the printers of the 
city, and had asked them that they would not give 
Benjamin anything to do. 

There were then only two other cities where he 
would be likely to find work ; these were New York 
and Philadelphia. He determined to seek work in 
New York. In order to get money for the trip, he 
sold some of his books and then arranged with the 
captain of a sloop to take him to New York. In 
three days this boy of seventeen was in a strange 
city three hundred miles from home. No one 
needed his services there ; so he trudged on his jour- 
ney through a heavy rain, and at night he stopped 
at a wayside inn, a discouraged and homesick boy. 
He continued his journey, however, till he came to 
the Delaware river. Late the next evening a boat 
was passing, which was going to Philadelphia. 



182 Revolution 

Franklin was taken on board, and as there was no 
wind, the men took turns at rowing. About mid- 
night some of the party thought that they had 
passed the city, so they decided to land. It was a 
cold night in October, and as they had landed near 
an old fence, they made a fire with the rails, and 
waited until morning. Early the next morning one 
of the party recognized that they were a little above 
Philadelphia. They landed at this city about nine 
o'clock in the morning. This was Franklin's in- 
troduction to the Cit}^ of Brotherly Love; but it 
was not his last experience. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Give reasons why we honor the name of FrankHn. 

When did the eighteenth century begin? 

Write a story of Franklin's boyhood. 

Difficult words — library, ballad, sloop, inn, couplet, trudge. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Franklin's Autobiography. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

"Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while 
the used key is always bright." — Franklin. 



FRANKLIN IN PHILADELPHIA 
TJic Printer Boy Becomes a Man of Influence 

If one were to have seen Franklin on the morn- 
ing of his arrival at Philadelphia, it wonld have 
seemed altogether improbable that this nnkempt, 
iintailored, and plain looking boy wonld one day 
stand before kings. The nnfolding of his life is 
not a fairy story; it is simply an illnstration of 
what a boy may make of himself who wisely nses 
the talents that he has. 

He cheerfully paid the manager of the boat for 
his passage, although he had helped him with the 
rowing. He then went up the street to find some- 
thing to eat. He asked for biscuits, such as he 
used to buy in Boston ; but the baker did not have 
them. Then he asked for a three-penny-worth of 
bread. The baker handed him three great puffy 
rolls. Franklin was surprised at the quantity, but 
took the rolls. His pockets were already filled, so 
he put a roll under each arm, and began to eat the 
other. As he returned to the wharf he passed the 
home of Mr. Reed, his future father-in-law- The 
young Miss Deborah Reed, as she watched the 
awkward looking young fellow munching his break- 
fast, little dreamed that she would one day be Mrs. 
Benjamin Franklin. 



183 



184 Revolution 

On the following day Franklin went to see An- 
drew Bradford, tlie printer. Here he found an old 
gentleman whom he had previously met in New 
York, and who had advised him to come to Phila- 
delphia. This gentleman introduced Franklin to 
another printer named Keimer, who was pleased 
with Franklin's manner, and promised him work. 
Franklin's success seemed now assured, for what 
he wanted was a chance to work. 

He was too poor to start in business for him- 
self; but by economy he soon saved enough to be- 
come a partner in a printing house. He was twen- 
ty-two years of age when he became a member of 
the firm, Franklin and Merideth. He finally bought 
out his partner, and for two years his sign read, 
B. Franklin, Printer. He published the Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette, which survives to-day in the Satur- 
day Evening Post. 

In 1730, Franklin married Deborah Reed, the 
girl who was so amused at his first appearance in 
Philadelphia. She became a great help to him, for 
she was in sympathy with his work, and was inter- 
ested in all that he did. Two years later, the year 
in which George Washington was born, he began 
to print an almanac, which he called ''Poor Rich- 
ard's Almanac." Besides giving the monthly cal- 
endar and the phases of the moon, he filled up the 
pages with wise sayings, and made the almanac 
so useful and so entertaining that he sold ten thou- 



Franklin in Philadelphia 



185 



sand copies annually for twenty-five years. Here 
are a few sayings from ''Poor Ricliard": 

"Well done is better than well said." 

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame as be- 
ing unwilling to learn. ' ' 

"A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a 
slip of the tongue you may never get over. ' ' 

Franklin managed his business so well that in 
after years his income was large enough to allow 
him time for the study of 
other things. He began 
the study of the French 
language, and he found it 
s o interesting that he 
afterwards studied Ital- 
ian, Spanish, and Latin. 

He took a great interest 
in the welfare of the peo- 
ple, and among the things 
which he devised to better 
their condition may be 
mentioned, the public library, an improved postal 
system, and the use of stoves instead of the great 
fire-i^laces. 

He became greatly interested in the study of elec- 
tricity. Many other people at that time were also 
interested in it ; but no one had learned to make it 
useful to manldnd. To-day, when electricity lights 




FRANKLIN'S PRESS 



186 



Revolution 



our streets and houses, helps us to talk to people 
hundreds of miles away, draws our street cars and 
carriages, and sends our messages around the 
world, we wonder how people ever lived without 
its help. 

Franklin was the first to discover that lightning 
and electricity were the same force. He had be- 
lieved this for a long time, but he now proved it 
by using a silk kite. To the upper end of the kite 

he fastened a sharp 
pointed piece of wire, 
and to the lower end 
he attached a tail. To 
the body of the kite he 
fastened a long hemp- 
en cord to be used for 
flying the kite. He 
then tied a piece of 
silk ribbon and a door key to the lower end of the 
cord. One evening when a thunder cloud was com- 
ing up, he and his son William took the kite, and 
went outside the city into the open country to make 
his experiment. The kite flew well, but there 
seemed to be no electricity in the cloud. Franklin 
was about to haul in the kite when he noticed that 
the fibers on the cord began to rise. He touched the 
key with his knuckle and immediately a spark ap- 
peared. He touched it again and again and each 
time he felt the electric shock. He brought in his 




FLYING A KITE 



Franklin in Philadelphia 



187 



kite, for now he had proved that lightning and elec- 
tricity are the same. When the report of this great 
discovery became known, there v^^as great excite- 
ment among the men of science in Europe as well as 
in America. Franklin was called a man of science. 
Both Harvard and Yale colleges gave him the de- 
gree of M a s t e r of 
Arts, and universities 
in England and Scot- 
land made him a Doc- 
tor of Laws. 

When the colonies 
needed someone to 
plead their cause be- 
f r e the Parliament 
of England, they sent 
Franklin to represent 
them. He did not 
Avant England and the 
colonies to go to war 
with each other. He 
urged Parliament to 
plant m ore colonies 

between the Mississippi river and the Allegheny 
mountains, rather than to attempt to collect taxes 
from the colonies already established. In this way 
he plead for the development of the great interior. 
Although the English listened to his pleas, they 





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DRAFTING THE DECLARATION 
OF INDEPENDENCE 



188 Revolution 

were unwilling to do anything more for the Ameri- 
can colonies. 

After Franklin had been in England ten years 
Ijleading in vain with the King and with Parlia- 
ment for the colonies, he returned home. He now 
turned his energies toward helping the colonies in 
their struggle with England. He met with them in 
their assemblies, and was afterwards one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. We 
can readily understand why he was especially in- 
terested in the people of New England ; for Boston 
was still the home of many of his relatives, whom 
he dearly loved. 

It would seem that he had already done enough 
for the colonists, but at the age of seventy they sent 
him as their representative to France, the first one 
that America had ever sent to that country. He be- 
came very popular with the French people. They 
followed him in the streets, and cheered him as if 
he had been a great general. He was a general in 
one sense. While George Washington was leading 
the American forces on the battlefields of the Revo- 
lutionary war, Franklin was leading the people of 
France to see the importance of helping the col- 
onies in their struggle for independence. France 
had never forgotten that England had taken from 
her a vast empire in America; but it was a bold 
undertaking for France to offer aid to the strug- 
gling colonies. Franklin, however, succeeded in 



Franklin in Philadelphia 189 

persuading France to recognize the colonies as a 
free and independent country, and more tlian that, 
he persuaded France to send money to help the col- 
onies. 

Franklin was now an old man, and when he re- 
turned to America, he begged to be relieved from 
all public duty. His own state, however, needed 
his services still further, and for three successive 
terms he was elected governor of Pennsylvania; 
and when the war of the Revolution Avas over he 
was sent as one of the delegates from Pennsylvania 
to assist in drawing up a constitution for the 
United States. He is the only man who signed all 
four of the most famous documents in our history : 
the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of 
Alliance, the Treaty of Peace, and the Constitu- 
tion under which we now live. 

Benjamin Franklin died at the age of eighty- 
four ; but his life work was so woven into the life 
of our country that his influence and teachings are 
still with us. 



190 REVOLUTION 

SUGGESTIONS 

What qualities in Franklin do you admire? 
Why do you think he succeeded so well ? 
Give the maxims which you like best. 
Where was Franklin during the Revolution ? 
Name some things that Franklin did that were of use to his 
country. 

Difficult words — previously, economy, famous. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Franklin's Autobiography. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

"Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you will have corn 
to sell and to keep." — Franklin. 



THE FIRST DAYS OF THE REVOLUTION 



The Fires of Patriotism Were Lighted 

We cannot always foresee the outcome of any- 
thing by its appearance in tlie beginning. We 
would hardly suspect that 
a giant oak might grow 
from the tiny acorn which 
we may hold in our hand. 
The great men of England 
surely never thought that 
the untrained men of 
America could ever be a 
match for her trained and 
well equipped soldiers. 
The test was soon to come. 
The people of Boston had 
grown fearfid of an at- 
tack from the British sol- 
diers, and had therefore 
carried their guns and am- 
munition to Concord, a 
small town about twenty 
miles away. The men of 
the towns and of the country had organized them- 
selves into a band of militia, and called themselves 
"Minutemen." All through the country, squads 

191 




MINUTE MAN 



192 Revolution 

of men might be seen target practicing, or march- 
ing to the music of the fife and drum. Every man 
between the ages of sixteen and seventy years was 
enrolled as a "minuteman," and was ready to 
seize his gun on a minute's notice. The British 
said that the ^'minutemen" were, "The men who'll 
run the minute they see the enemy," but the first 
engagement proved that this statement was untrue, 
and show^ed that the homespun clothing of the min- 
utemen covered breasts as brave as those of the 
British red-coats in their broadcloth and epaulets. 
When the British commander. General Gage, 
learned that the colonists were collecting ammuni- 
tion and supplies, he sent eight hundred soldiers 
to destroy the supplies which the colonists had 
stored at Concord. The brave patriots, who w^ere 
ever on the lookout, learned what he had planned 
to do ; so they sent swift riders to tell the people of 
the surrounding country that the British were com- 
ing. Paul Revere, one of those riders, left Boston 
early in the evening ; for at a certain hour British 
guards were stationed and no one was allowed 
either to enter or to leave Boston. He waited out- 
side the city for a signal, and, when he saw the two 
lights in the belfry of the old North church, he 
mounted his horse and sped away. The road to 
Lexington was a familiar one. He stopped at a 
house which stood near the road, and struck the 
door with his whip. "Who's there *?" asked the 



First Days of Revolution 



193 



captain of the minutemen. Quickly came tlie re- 
lAy, "Paul Revere; the British march to-night to 
Lexington and Concord; the committee of safety 
bids you hold your men in readiness. ' ' Before the 
captain of the minutemen could lower his window, 




4r' 



L. 



PAUL REVERE'S RIDE 



Paul Revere was on his way to tell the news at 
every farm house that he passed. 

Early in the morning, eight hundred of the 
trained soldiers of the British army marched into 
Lexington with guns shouldered, bayonets fixed, 
and with the tramp, tramp of a disciplined army. 
Before they reached Lexington the British knew 



13 



194 Revolution 

that their plans had already been discovered; for 
they could hear the ringing of bells and the firing 
of muskets, which told them that the patriots had 
learned of their plans. They did not so much fear 
the minutemen as they feared that the supplies 
which they had come to destroy had been taken 
away. They thought that a few dozen patriots 
would be as nothing compared to their eight hun- 
dred trained soldiers. In order that they might 

feel even more se- 
cure, they s e n t a 
messenger back to 
Boston to tell the 
officer there to send 
them more soldiers 

MONUMENT TO MINUTEMEN WnO WCIC tO 

ready in case they 
should be needed. The British commander sent 
forward six companies to take possession of the 
bridge across the Concord river. 

The captain of the little band of minutemen had 
said to his men, "Stand your ground ; don't fire un- 
less fired upon ; but if they mean to have a war, let 
it begin here." How bravely they followed his 
order ! On and on came the British regulars until 
within speaking distance. "Disperse, ye rebels!" 
shouted Pitcairn, the British commander, "Lay 
down your arms." The patriots, who were facing 
death, not for their own glory, but because the 




First Days of RE;voLU'rioN 



195 



spirit of liberty burned in their breasts, could not 
betray the trust, and they would not lay down their 
arms. ''Fire," shouted Pitcairn. The first volley 
of the Revolution resounded through the air, and 
sixteen of the New En- 



--^^?^^|;f__- 



glanders fell dead or 
wounded on t h e vil- 
lage common. 

The British soldiers 
hurried on to Concord, 
and destroyed all the 
supplies that had not 
been taken away by 
the colonists. The 
minutemen kej)t com- 
ing into Concord from 
the surrounding coun- 
try until their number 
had increased to about 
four hundred. The 
British regulars di- 
vided into several companies, some going to one 
part of the village, and some to another. The pa- 
triots gathered at the old North bridge, which was 
guarded by two hundred of the regulars. Soon the 
patriots saw smoke, and believed that their homes, 
which had already been plundered, were now being 
burned. Their leaders counseled together for a 
moment, and then decided to march across the 




MONUMENT AND BRIDGE AT 
CONCORD 



196 Revolution 

bridge. They were told not to fire unless the British 
first fired upon them. These sturdy patriots had 
been taught to do with all their might what their 
hands found to do, and after two of their comrades 
had fallen they returned the fire, and put the Brit- 
ish to flight. A little before noon the entire British 
SiYinj was on a retreat to Boston. The men were al- 
ready tired, but the constant fire of the minutemen 
caused them to travel much faster than they came ; 
for, from behind trees, fences, posts, and rocks, 
minutemen were continually firing at them. It was 
a running fight of twenty miles, and if help had not 
been sent out to meet the British regulars, their 
entire army would have been captured. The nine- 
teenth day of April, 1775, Avill always be remem- 
bered as the first day of the E evolution. The news 
of the events of that day spread throughout the 
world. The results fired the patriotic spirit of the 
colonists, and men in all of the colonies offered 
their help. Israel Putnam, a man of great courage 
and presence of mind, was plowing in his field 
in Connecticut when the news of these events 
reached him. Without changing his working 
clothes, he mounted his horse and in eighteen hours, 
he rode to Boston, a distance of one hundred miles. 
Troops came from New Hamj^shire, from Dela- 
ware, and from several of the more remote colonies. 
Within a few days the colonial army around Bos- 
ton increased to twenty thousand. It was at once 



First Days of RE;vor.uTioN 197 

felt that there was no longer a New Englander, a 
New Yorker, or a Virginian ; but that all colonists 
must unite for independence. 



SUGGESTIONS 

Who were the "minutemen"? 

Locate Boston, Concord, Lexington. 

Tell the story of Israel Putnam. 

Difficult words — musket, patriotic, epaulet, belfry. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Paul Revere's Ride. — {Longfellow.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The first day of the Revolution was a surprise to the British 
soldiers. The minutemen forced them to retreat to Boston. 



WASHINGTON, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
1775 To 1781 

The patriots, who had offered their services, 
loved their country, and were willing to give even 
their lives that this country might be free ; but they 
needed some one to tell them what to do and how 
to do it. They realized that enthusiasm alone 
would not bring them success. There must be some 
method by which one man must become responsible 
for the movements of the armies and for the leader- 
ship of the soldiers. 

On May 10th, 1775, the Second Continental Con- 
gress met in Philadelphia. Men were there from 
the different colonies. Benjamin Franklin, who 
had just returned from England, was there. It 
was an important meeting of heroes and patriots. 
This Congress decided, early in the meeting, that 
the army which had gathered around Boston, 
should be called the Continental army, meaning 
that the army was to be composed of men from all 
the colonies of the continent. 

George Washington was a member of this Con- 
gress, and when he heard his name placed in nom- 
ination as commander-in-chief of the American 
army, he arose and left the hall. He remarked to 
a friend standing outside, "I fear that this day will 

198 



Washington, Commander-in-Chief 



199 



mark tlie beginning of the downfall of my military 
reputation. ' ' He was elected by a unanimous vote. 
The next day he accepted the office, and in a short 
address he promised that he would do his best for 
his country; "But," he added, "I declare, with the 
utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the 
command I am honored with. ' ' Everyone had con- 
fidence in Washington, and knew that he had al- 
ways succeeded in do- 
ing well whatever he 
had undertaken. He 
would not accept any 
pay for his services; 
he said that he would 
keep an accurate ac- 
count of his expenses, 
and that when the war 
was over. Congress 




INDEPENDENCE HALL 



could pay Mm, if it so 

desired. Congress sent a final petition to the king 

of England, but the king refused to receive it. 

Washington passed through New York on his 
way to Cambridge to take command of the Conti- 
nental army. When he arrived at New York, some- 
one expressed to him a hope that he would be 
willing to resign his position as commander-in- 
chief, if England and the colonies could compro- 
mise. Washington replied: ''Having drawn the 
sword, I postpone all thought of private life until 



200 



Revolution 



American liberty has been established on most firm 
and solid foundations." He continued his journey 
to Cambridge, and on July third, accompanied by 
a large number of officers, he appeared on the Cam- 
bridge common, near Harvard college. Under a 

wide-spreading elm, 
in the presence of a 
great crowd of sol- 
diers and citizens, 
Washington took the 
oath of office and then 
drew his sword as 
commander-in-chief of 
the Continental army. 
We can understand 
why the crowd cheered 
for joy as he wheeled 
his horse; for Wash- 
ington inspired confi- 
dence by his manly 
bearing. He was 
dressed in a blue 
broadcloth suit with 
buif facings, silk 
stockings, and a three- 
cornered hat. Mrs. Adams wrote to a friend say- 
ing that these words of Dryden came to her mind 
as she looked at him on that memorable dav : 







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WASHINGTON ELM 



Washington, Commander-in-Chief" 



201 



"Mark his majestic fabric! His a temple 
Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine; 
His soul's the Deity that lodges there. 
Nor is the pile unworthy of the God." 

Washington made his headquarters at a large 
house about a half mile west of the college. A good 







WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS 



many years after this, when the country was at 
peace and our independence had been well estab- 
lished, there lived in this same house our loved 
American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
He, however, did not plan battles and campaigns, 
but he wrote many tender and soul-stirring lines 
about the early history of our country. Surely no 



303 Revolution 

other house ever served as a home for two greater 
men. 

Washington at once took charge of the army 
numbering about fourteen thousand vohmteers. 
His first care was to see that the British did not 
escape from Boston ; and even while he was doing 
this it was no less a care to organize and discipline 
his army. For eleven months he kept the British 
shut up in Boston, but he finally decided to make 
them either fight or leave the city. It is not known 
why General Howe, who had succeeded General 
Gage, did not occupy the Dorchester Heights, 
which overlooked both the city and the harbor. 

Washington saw this opportunity, and while one 
part of his army was busy cannonading the city 
from one side, two thousand of his soldiers were 
busy pulling the heavy guns to the top of Dor- 
chester Heights, and carrying timbers and bales of 
hay for the fortifications. Early next morning, 
Howe saw what had been done. He realized that 
it had taken a large army to build such a fort, and 
he was at a loss to know what to do. He decided 
to attack the fort ; but a storm arose, so he waited 
until the next day. By that time the Heights 
had become so strongly fortified that Howe thought 
best to leave Boston. He threatened to leave the 
town in ashes, if the British troops were fired upon, 
so they were allowed to hurry away in their ships 
to Halifax. They did not take with them their 



Washington, Commandkr-in-Chief 203 

heavy arms and. ammunition, and when Washing- 
ton and his Continentals marched into Boston, they 
found more guns and ammunition than his army 
had ever seen. Thus by wise generalship, Washing- 
ton forced the British army to withdraw from New 
England. Congress had a gold medal made for 
Washington with these words on it: "Victorious 
over the enemy for the first time put to flight." 




THE MEDAL, GIVEN TO WASHINGTON 

Although the Continental Congress had been 
continuously in session since the tenth of May, 
1775, it was not until the first day of July, 1776, 
that the members believed that the colonies should 
declare themselves independent of the mother coun- 
try. They debated this question until two o'clock 
on July fourth. A vote was then taken; and the 
resolution in favor of independence carried. As 
soon as it was announced that the Declaration of 
Independence had been adopted, people every- 
where told and retold the glad message. Bonfires 



204 



Revolution 



were lighted and bells were rung. In New York 
they pulled down the leaden statue of George III, 
and cast it into bullets. Washington ordered the 
Declaration to be read at the head of each brigade 
of the army. 

England now took steps to push the war against 
the colonists with increased vigor. She made a 

treaty with Hesse, one 
of the smaller Ger- 
man states, hiring sev- 
enteen thousand Hes- 
sians to engage in the 
war against the colon- 
ists. The British were 
anxious to get posses- 
sion of New York, for 
if they could firmly 
plant their army at 
that city, they thought 
that they could sep- 
arate the New En- 
gland from the Southern colonies. Accordingly, 
General Howe was ordered to leave Halifax and to 
take his army to New York. He was instructed to 
make peace with the colonists, if possible. After 
landing his army. General Howe sent a message to 
Washington at the American camp, but he did not 
recognize Washington as a general. He addressed 
his message, *' George Washington, Esq." Wash- 




LIBERTY BELL 



Washington, Commander-in-Chie;]? 



205 



ingtoB returned it unopened. Then lie sent an- 
other addressed, ''George Washington, etc., etc., 
etc." The bearer of the message said the and-so- 
forth might mean General of the American Army, 
but Washington sent the messenger away for he 
would not receive an insult to his office. 




SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

The British at once began to plan to take an 
army across to Long Island. General Howe landed 
a large army and compelled Washington to retreat. 
Victory f oUoAved victory for the British as they fol- 
lowed Washington across New Jersey. 

When Washington reached the Delaware river, 
he gathered up all the boats along the river, and 



206 



Revolution 



took them along with his army to the other side. 
He was now in Pennsylvania, and the British had 
no way to cross the river. Lord CornwalUs, one of 
the British generals, had left fifteen hundred Hes- 
sian soldiers at Trenton. They were waiting for 
the Delaware to freeze over, so that they could 
cross the river, and attack Washington's army. 




CROSSING THE DELAWARE 



AVashington did not wait for the river to freeze 
over, but put a large number of his soldiers in 
boats, and crossed in a blinding snow storm. The 
river was full of floating ice, but AVashington knew 
that the Germans would celebrate Christmas and 
would not be expecting him. It was intensely cold ; 
Washington's men were thinly dressed, and their 
shoes were ragged, but they were brave and coura- 



Washington, Commander-in-Chief 



207 



geous men. Tliey came upon the little town where 
the Hessians were camped, and almost before they 
knew it Washington had taken one thousand of 
the Germans prisoners. The rest escaped to tell 
Cornwallis of what had happened. This was really 
the first battle won by the Continental army. It 
helped to encourage the soldiers, and it gave con- 
fidence in what the Americans could do. 

Washington never forgot his duty to his fellow 
man, and, when the commander of the Hessian sol- 
diers lay dying, he went 
to see him, and sympa- 
thized with him as he 
would have done with a 
friend. This showed that 
although Washington was 
a soldier, yet he loved to 
do a kind act even to his 
enemy. He was leading 
his army in battles, be- 
cause he knew that there 
was no other way to secure liberty for the op- 
pressed colonists. 

He took his German prisoners across the river 
into Pennsylvania and a few days later he re- 
crossed the Delaware into New Jersey. While 
Cornwallis lay asleep in his tent, Washington 
slipped around him, and captured a part of his 
armv at Princeton. When Cornwallis heard the 




WASHINGTON'S CAMP 
CHEST 



308 Revolution 

roar of the cannon, he realized that Washington 
had outgeneraled him. The victories that Wash- 
ington had gained with his little band during the 
six weeks following Christmas, are said to be 
among the most brilliant ever won by a general in 
any country. 

Not everything, however, was successful for 
Washington, for by the next winter the British had 
taken possession of Philadelphia, which was then 
the seat of government. The red-coats, as the 
British were called, were entertained by the Tories 
with parties and dinners. The Tories were the 
people who sympathized with the English, and 
there were many of them, not only in Philadelphia, 
but also throughout the colonies. 

About twenty miles away in a rocky mountain 
gorge, Washington was encamped with his army. 
The place was called Valley Forge. The life of his 
soldiers was in great contrast with the gay life of 
the British at Pliiladelphia. Many of his men 
were ragged and without shoes. It is really true 
that their footprints were often stained with blood. 
Their rude huts were uncomfortable. The roofs 
were made of logs split into slabs, and the walls 
were of logs, with the spaces between them filled 
with clay. Added to these discomforts there was 
a shortage of food supplies. For days together 
these brave patriots went without bread and meat. 

These were the saddest hours of the Revolution, 



Washington, Commander-in-Chiei? 



209 



but a better time was coming. Burgoyne, one of 
the British generals, was forced to surrender to the 
Continental army under General Gates, at Sara- 
toga in New York. Burgoyne was a proud but 
brave soldier, and when he gave up his sword to 
General Gates, he said very courteously, "The 
fortunes of war, General Gates, have made me 




SURRENDER OF GENERAL BURGOYNE 



your prisoner." General Gates, who was equally 
brave and polite, replied: "I shall always be 
glad to testify. General Burgoyne, that it was 
through no fault of yours that it happened so." 
When the news of this surrender reached France, 
Franklin and two other Americans who were 



14 



210 



Revolution 



with him, were able to persuade France to lend 
us money, and to send us soldiers and warships. 
There was a young man in France, Marquis de 
Lafayette, who was so much in sympathy with our 
cause that he left his own country and came to 
America, and offered his services for the cause of 
liberty. Washington became warmly attached to 
the young Frenchman. Lafayette gave himself so 
completely to the cause of independence that even 

after the war was over he 
used to call himself an 
American. 

At the time of the Rev- 
olution we had no regular 
navy, but men who had 
ships of their own al- 




MARQUIS DK LAFAYKTTB 



lowed them to be sent to 
capture English vessels 
wherever they might be 
found. This practice was 
very annoying to the 
British, for more than 
five hundred of their ves- 
sels were captured in this way. Paul Jones was 
one of the famous naval heroes in the Amer- 
ican service. He was cruising off the northern 
coast of England, when he met an English ves- 
sel, the Serapis. Jones had named his vessel the 
Bonhomme Richard (Goodman Richard) in honor 



Washington, Commander-in-Chiei'' 211 

of Franklin, because lie so much admired his say- 
ings in "Poor Richard." 

One evening he sailed alongside the Serapis, and 
began Jfiring on her. When the contest had lasted 
about an hour, the Serapis hailed the Richard and 
asked if she had ' ' struck her colors. " "I have not 
begun to fight, ' ' replied Jones. He lashed the boats 
together, and the battle became a hand-to-hand 
contest. Three times both 
ships were on fire. Fi- 
nally, at ten o'clock, the 
Serapis surrendered. 

We must remember that 
the war was not carried on 
at one place and under one 
commander, but wherever 
there was a loyal Amer- 
ican, there was a soldier. 
In the north, in the south, 
on the sea, and on the land, 

,, , . . PAUL JONES 

the contest was waging. 

The women and children were not enlisted in the 
army, but whenever they found an opportunity 
to help, they were always ready and willing to lend 
a hand. 

In the South there was a brave patriot named 
Marion, who was so successful in stealing marches 
on the enemy that he was called the "Fox of the 
Southern Swamp." At one time a British offi- 




212 



Revolution 



cer came to the camp of General Marion to talk 
about exchanging prisoners. When they had com- 
pleted their plans, General Marion invited the Brit- 
ish officer to dine with him. The dinner consisted 
of baked potatoes served on pieces of bark. The 
young officer inquired if this was his usual fare. 
He replied, ''We think ourselves fortunate in hav- 
ing more potatoes than usual, since we have a visi- 
tor to dine with us. ' ' 
When the British officer 
learned that General Mar- 
ion and his patriotic band 
were fighting Avithout ]3ay, 
and that Marion himself 
had neither blanket nor 
hat, he returned to 
Charleston, where the 
British a r m y then was, 
and resigned his position 
in the English army. He 
said he would not use his influence to deprive such 
worthy people of their liberty. 

In the meantime Coruwallis had moved his army 
to Yorktown in Virginia. Washington had been 
watching the British from New York. He did not 
want Cornwallis to suspect his plan, so he kept 
working away at New York until the French fleet 
reached Yorktown to prevent his making his es- 
cape by sea. Then Washington with his own army 




FRANCIS MARION 



Washington, Commander-in-Chief 213 

and some French soldiers, quickly marched to 
Yorktown by land. 

They were soon on Virginia soil, and Washing- 
ton rode ahead of liis army in order that he might 
make a little visit at his home at Mount Vernon. 
He had not been home since he left it six years be- 
fore to become commander-in-chief of the army. 
So eager was he to attack Yorktown that he hur- 
ried forward after a two-day visit at his home. 
People everywhere caught his enthusiasm. Bands 
played as the troops marched through the towns, 
and people shouted, ' ' Long live Washington ! He 
has gone to catch Cornwallis in his mouse trap. ' ' 

Yorktown was a small village on a strip of land 
which separates the York river from the James. 
Coi'uwallis began to realize his danger; for he 
knew that his escape by water had been shut off, 
and he also knew that his fortifications were no 
great protection. After Washington arrived near 
Yorktown, he made an attack on the British forces 
under Cornwallis. For more than a week both 
sides kept up the firing night and day. Cornwallis 
saw that it was useless to try to hold out longer; 
so he surrendered. When the terms of surrender 
had been agreed upon, the French soldiers formed 
a hue on one side and the American troops on the 
other. The British army marched between. The 
news, "Cornwallis has surrendered! Cornwallis 
has surrendered!" passed from one to another 



214 



Revolution 



throughout the country. On learning the glad 
news, Congress retired to a church to give thanks 
to God. 

The surrender took place on October 19, 1781, 




SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 



but it was two years before the treaty of peace was 
comiDleted. When Washington was fully con- 
vinced that there would be no more fighting, he 
asked his officers to meet him in New York city. 
When they had assembled, he thanked them for 



Washington, Commander-in-Chie;f 



215 



their ready help and their courage during the 
seven years of struggle; then with his hand trem- 
bling from emotion, he raised to his lips a glass of 
clear water, and drank to their health with the 
following words: "With a heart full of love and 
gratitude I now take leave of you, and most de- 




WASHINGTON AND HIS GENERALS 

voutly wish your later days may be as prosperous 
and happy as your former ones have been glorious 
and honorable." He asked each of them to come 
and take him by the hand. The brave soldiers, 
who had suffered with him at Valley Forge and 
who were with him at Yorktown, came with tear- 
stained faces and said good-bye to their leader. 



216 



REVOLUTION 



Washington went to Pliiladelpliia, and gave to 
the proper officers a report of the money he had 
spent during the war. He had kept this record 
carefully, just as he had learned to do all of his 
work when he was a little boy. His account showed 
that he had used seventy-four thousand four hun- 
dred eighty-five dollars of his own money. He 
then went to Annapolis, where Congress was in 
session, and after making an eloquent address he 
resigned his office as commander-in-chief of the 
Continental army. As a private citizen, he retired 
to his home at Mount Vernon, having served his 
country for seven years. 




MOUNT VERNON 



Washington, Commander-in-Chief 



217 



SUGGESTIONS 

Why was the American army called the Continental army? 
Write your own story of George Washington. 
Why do you think he was a great man? 
What trait of his character do you admire? 
Difficult words — enthusiasm, reputation, unanimous, brigade, 
accurate, postpone, volunteer, cannonade. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Building the Nation.^ — (Coffin.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Washington was a man of deeds. He loved his country. 
He endured privations with his soldiers, and did all that he 
could to relieve them. Declaration of Independence was 
adopted July 4, 1776. 







MAP AT CLOSE OF REVOLUTION 



SISTERHOOD OF STATES 

HOW OUR GOVERNMENT WAS FORMED 
7^/7^3; Bnildcd Better Than They Knew 

Ever since this country was discovered by Colum- 
bus, the nations of the world had been watching 
its development. At first they vied with each other 
to get possession of territory ; but now, at the close 
of the Revolution, they were eager to know how it 
was to be governed. Some said that America would 
have a throne, and that a son of the king of England 
would be asked to sit on it, and to rule the people. 
Others said that France had done so nmch to help 
the people win their independence that the crown 
would be given to some one from France. Still 
others thought that the colonies would be divided 
into three distinct countries, and that each part 
would be governed separately. It was also hinted 
that Washington might be chosen king to rule over 
all the colonies, but he promptly put an end to any 
such plan; for he firmly believed that the people 
should govern themselves. 

During the war of the Revolution the people of 
the colonies had adopted an agreement which they 
called the Articles of Confederation. This agree- 
ment kept the colonies together during the war, 

218 



How Our Government Was Formed 219 

but it was found to have many weak points, and 
was not suited for a permanent government. For 
exam]3le, there Avas no way provided by which Con- 
gress could raise money to pay the soldiers. This 
was a serious fault ; nevertheless, the noble patriots 
who had risked their lives in order that the col- 
onies might be free from the exacting rule of En- 
gland, accepted the promise of Congress, and re- 
turned to their homes to take up the life of liberty- 
loving citizens. The Articles of Confederation had 
provided no way to pay the debt which the war had 
caused. No other country would lend us money, 
because there was no well founded government. It 
is not strange that other countries wondered what 
the outcome might be. There was, therefore, 
among the leading men of the colonies, the greatest 
concern about the government. 

Six years after the surrender at Yorktown, the 
people decided to have a meeting of delegates from 
each of the colonies to revise the Articles of 
Confederation. In the month of May, fifty-five 
men from the various colonies gathered at Phila- 
delphia. Men on horseback met Washington out- 
side the city, and escorted him to the place of the 
meeting. Benjamin Franklin, who was then 
eighty-one years of age, was the oldest member of 
the delegates. This was a most important gather- 
ing of men of influence. Washington was chosen 



220 Sisterhood of States 

president of the convention. Everybody had con- 
fidence in him for what he had ah^eady done. 

At first it was thought best to revise the Ar- 
ticles of Confederation; but Washington thought 
that the faults were too serious to be overcome in 
this way. His idea of having a stronger govern- 
ment prevailed, so they decided to write out a new 
agreement which they called the Constitution of 
the United States. To do this would not seem diffi- 
cult; but when we remember that such a form of 
government as they were planning had never be- 
fore been tried, we can realize that these delegates 
had before them a difficult task. They met every 
day for four months, and sometimes their debates 
were exciting. What they were saying and what 
they were doing, was kept a secret. The delegates 
allowed no one to be present at the meetings but 
themselves; and nothing of what they did or said 
was printed in the newspapers. 

When they had finished tlieir work, they voted 
that Washington should keep the record of their 
debates and speeches until Congress should decide 
what to do with them. This showed the great con- 
fidence that they liad in him. He had been true 
to every trust that had been given him, and now 
these valuable papers were left with him for safe- 
keeping. The last act of the convention was the 
signing of the new Constitution. All of the mem- 
bers present, except three, signed their names. 



How Our Government Was Formed 221 

After Franklin had written liis name, he stood 
nearby while the last members were signing, and, 
looking toward the president's chair, back of which 
the picture of a rising sun had been jminted, he 
said, ''Painters have often found it difficult to tell 
a rising sun from a setting sun. I have often and 
often, in the course of the session, looked at that 
sun behind the president, without being able to tell 
whether it was rising or setting; I now have tlie 
happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting 
sun." When the members of the convention had 
completed their work, they adjourned, and after 
dining together, they returned to their homes to 
use their influence to have the Constitution adopted 
by the various states. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did the people not want a king? 

What were the "Articles of Confederation"? 

How did the people show their confidence in Washington? 

Difficnlt words — view, constitntion, escort, revise, adjourn. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Story of the Great Republic. — (Guerber.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Our Constitution was written by representatives of the peo- 
ple. 



THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED 
They Laid the Foundation for Our Happiness 

As soon as the delegates had signed the Consti- 
tution which they had written, they sent a copy of 
it to the Continental Congress. It was also pub- 
lished in the newspapers, and people everywhere 
were talking about it. Some thought that it should 
be sent to the state legislatures with the request 
that they call a special convention to act upon it. 
After much discussion Congress finally agreed to 
send a copy to each state legislature with a request 
that they adopt it or reject it. 

As the people studied the Constitution more 
carefully, they were compelled to admit that it had 
many good features. They learned that it provided 
for the three things which are necessary to good 
government. It said that the people should select 
from the several states men who were to make such 
laws as the people wanted. This body of men was 
called Congress. Then the people were to have 
an executive officer who was to see that the laws 
were enforced, or executed. This officer was called 
the President of the United States. Then they 
were also to have a body of men appointed by the 
president who were to decide about the laws and 
the j'iglits of the people. This body of men formed 

222 



The Constitution Adopted 333 

the supreme court and inferior courts. Now it 
would seem that no one would have opposed so 
simple a form of government. It was to have just 
three parts — a law making, a law enforcing, and a 
law deciding. 

The law making body was to have two divisions ; 
the senate and the house of representatives. In 
order to satisfy the people of the smaller states, it 
was decided to give each state two senators. Then 
the larger states were satisfied by allowing them 
to have a greater number of members in the house 
of representatives. The number of these represen- 
tatives was to be decided upon according to the 
population of each state. 

The chief executive, or president of the United 
States, was to be elected for a period of four years. 
He was to be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States. He could name the men 
whom he wanted for his counselors, or cabinet offi- 
cers, but his choice must be approved by the sen- 
ate. He was also to have power to make treaties 
with foreign nations, but here again the senate 
must approve what he did in order to make it 
legal. Every need of the govermnent was care- 
fully and thoughtfully worked out in the Consti- 
tution, and yet the control of everything was left to 
the people. The greatest freedom possible was 
thus given to the people, and for this principle 
they had been struggling. 



234 Sisterhood of States 

It was necessary that as many as nine of the 
thirteen states must accept the Constitution be- 
fore it would be binding on any of them. The 
little state of Delaware was the first to accept it; 
but it was almost a year before enough states had 
accepted the Constitution to j)ut it into effect. The 
first Wednesday of January, 1789, was named as 
the time for the election of president. George 
Washington was the choice of the people, and be- 
came the first president of the United States. John 
Adams was elected vice-president. The new gov- 
ermiient was at last to be tried. There were no 
longer thirteen separate colonies, but there was a 
strong sisterhood of states to which new states 
could be added. New states have kept asking ad- 
mission to this sisterhood until now the states num- 
ber forty-eight. More than a century has x)assed 
since the beginning, and we are still proud of the 
work of our forefathers; the government which 
they founded, we will maintain. 



The Constitution Adopted 335 

SUGGESTIONS 

Name the three divisions of our government. 
Tell the story of how the thirteen colonies formed what we 
now call the United States. 

Difficult words — executive, cahinet, maintain. 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The Constitution of the United States provides for a law- 
making, a law-enforcing, and a law-deciding department of 
our government. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON, OUR FIRST PRESIDENT 



^ 



"first in War. First in Peace, First in tlie Hearts of His 

Countrymen" 

Guns and bells have played an important part in 
the history of our country. Bells were rung and 
guns were fired when it was announced that we 

had declared ourselves in- 
/^ dependent of E n g 1 a n d . 

The deep-toned bells and 
the boom, boom of many 
cannons expressed the joy 
of the people when that 
declaration became a real- 
ity. The battery guns in 
New York on March the 
third, 1789, fired the fare- 
well salute to the old gov- 
ernment under the Arti- 
cles of Confederation. On 
the following morning the 
church bells and the same guns announced the 
beginning of the new government under the Con- 
stitution. 

The old Congress had now ceased to exist, and 
there was little on that day to show that the gov- 
ernment under the new Constitution was about to 

226 




GEORGE WASHINGTON 



GiiORGE Washington, First President 227 

begin. There were only eight senators in the city 
out of the twenty-two who had been elected, and 
only thirteen representatives out of the fifty-nine. 
It was a long and tedious journey for the members 
of Congress to come from their homes to New York 
which was now the seat of government. Some 
came on horseback, and others by stage ; but none 
of them came on electric or steam cars, for they 
had not then learned to travel in the modern way. 
Things were done more slowly than now, but what 
they did was well done; for the foundation which 
they laid for our government has stood the test of 
more than a hundred years. 

As Washington went to the seat of government, 
people everywhere tried to show him how much 
they loved him. His friends and neighbors gave 
him an affectionate farewell. The old and the 
young, women and children, gathered along the 
way to give him greeting; for his approach was 
heralded by ringing of bells and roaring of can- 
non. At Baltimore he was escorted through the 
city with a guard of honor. The governor of Penn- 
sylvania met him at the state line with a military 
escort. A beautiful white horse was led out for 
Washington to mount, and a large i)rocession of 
cavalry went before him to Philadelphia. Passing 
under triumphal arches of laurel, he entered the 
city of Brotherly Love amid shouts and cheers. 



228 



Sisterhood of States 



His reception at Trenton was, perhaps, the most 
affecting; the memory of other days moved the 
tender-hearted hero. Washington declared that 
the impression of it on his heart conld never be 
effaced. Here is the place where, twelve years be- 
fore, he had crossed the Delaware river filled with 

floating ice. Here he 
had watched the camp- 
fires of Cornwallis in 
front of him, and had 
resolved to strike the 
blow which shattered 
the dream of British 
victory. All this was 
now changed. The 
ladies of Trenton had 
caused a triumphal 
arch to be placed on 
the bridge. It was 
wreathed in ever- 
greens and laurels, 
and wound about with 
the green was this motto: "The defender of the 
mothers will be the protector of the daughters." 
The ladies of the city gathered at the bridge, and, 
as Washington passed under the arch, girls dressed 
in white scattered flowers at his feet, and sang a 
song which had been written for the occasion. 




WASHINGTON 
ON A WHITE HORSE 



George; Washington, First President 



239 



His entire journey was a continued ovation, but 
Washington was not exultant about it. He fully 
realized that the people would expect much of him, 
and he already understood how difficult it would 
be to begin the new government aright. He sent a 
letter to the governor of New York, saying that a 
quiet entry into the city would be most agreeable 




TRIUMPHAL ARCH 



to him; but the people of New York were enthu- 
siastic, and wanted to show how much they appre- 
ciated him. Committees from both houses of Con- 
gress waited at Elizabeth Point to receive him. 
Washington went on board a boat built for the oc- 
casion. It was manned with thirteen pilots dressed 
in white uniforms. As it went through the strait 
between New Jersey and Staten island, other boats 



230 Sisterhood of States 

joined it, and they passed up the broad bay to New 
York. It was a grand array of boats ! The ships 
at anchor in the harbor fired salutes as Washing- 
ton's boat passed. On board two of the ships, were 
men and women who sang appropriate songs as his 
boat approached. One vessel, the Galveston, a 
Spanish man-of-war, made no sign of welcome un- 
til Washington's boat was nearly abreast, when 
suddenly it burst into a full array of flags, and 
greeted him with a salute of thirteen guns. At the 
landing were crowds of people, and among them 
were many of his fellow-soldiers of the Revolution. 
His inauguration was delayed because they could 
not decide by what title he should be addressed. It 
was a great pleasure to Washington when it was 
announced that the title would be simply, ''The 
President of the United States." The good judg- 
ment shown at that time has been recognized ever 
since. On the thirtieth of April, 1789, religious 
services were held in all the churches of New York 
at nine o'clock in the morning, and at twelve 
o'clock troops paraded before Washington's door, 
and soon afterwards all filed to the City Hall. 
Dressed in a suit of dark brown cloth of American 
manufacture, Washington appeared on the balcony 
amid the shouts of the multitude which had gath- 
ered. In the center of the balcony was a table on 
which lay a handsomely bound Bible resting on 
a crimson velvet cushion. As Chancellor Living- 



Gl;okgk Washington, First Pre;sid£;nt 



231 




ston of New York administered, the oath, Wash- 
ington laid his hand on the open Bible and rever- 
ently stooped and kissed it. The chancellor then 
stepped forward, and waiving his hand, shonted: 
"Long live George Washington, President of the 
United States," The flag was rim up, and the bat- 
tery guns rang out the first salute. A French min- 
ister who saw and 
heard the demonstra- 
tions, said: "No sov- 
ereign ever reigned 
m ore completely in 
the hearts of his sub- 
jects than Washing- 
ton did in the hearts 
of his fellow-citizens. 
Nature, which had 
given him the talent to 
govern, distinguished 
him from all others by 
his aj)pearance. He 
had at once the soul, 

the look, and the figure of a hero. He never ap- 
peared embarrassed at homage rendered him; and 
in manners he had the advantage of joining dignity 
to great simplicity." 

His address to Congress was brief, and he tried 
to tell them that everything which they did was 
important. A short time after his inauguration, 



T^' 



INAUGURATION OF 
WASHINGTON 



333 



Sisterhood of States 



he wrote, ''I walk on untrodden ground." He 
realized that he had nothing of the past to guide 
his course, and that what he did would be an ex- 
ample for others to follow. It was a trying time. 
Questions of seemingly little importance loomed 
up until they sometimes seemed to outweigh the 

important ones. Should 
the president mingle 
freely with the people, 
or hold himself aloof? 
Should there be pomp 
and style, after the fash- 
ion of the European 
courts, or should there 
be simplicity ? He wise- 
ly adopted the plan of 
neither extreme. He 
gathered about him in 
his cabinet men who 
were able to advise him. 
Their ideas sometimes differed greatly, but Wash- 
ington had the good judgment to weigh and con- 
sider everything, and then decide for himself. 

For two successive terms he served the people 
as their president. He saw our nation grow and 
develop. He saw the great war debt lessened, and 
our credit established at home and in foreign 
countries. He had served his country for forty- 
five years, and he longed for the rest and quiet of 




WASHINGTON'S CHAIR 



George; Washington, First President 



233 



home. Two years after his retirement, the nation's 
hero passed away, on December 14, 1799. Two 
days before his death, he had gone to a distant part 
of his estate. A cold December rain came on, and 
before he reached home he was thoroughly chilled. 
The next dav he was seriously ill from a disease of 




WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE 



the throat, which had caused him much annoyance. 
The following day he passed into that peaceful 
slumber from which neither the call of his country- 
men nor the thunder of the cannon could arouse 
him. There was mourning, not in the United 
States alone, but throughout the countries of the 
world ; for the name and the fame of Washington 
was world-wide. 



234 Sisterhood oi' Statics 

SUGGESTIONS 

On what occasions in our country have bells been rung and 
cannons fired? 

Why were there thirteen pilots to man the boat which re- 
ceived Washington at Elizabeth Point? 

Tell the story of Washington's inauguration. 

What did Washington mean when he said, "I walk on un- 
trodden ground"? 

Difficult words — heralded, approach, efface, wreathed, de- 
fender, protector, inaugurate, homage. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
George Washington. — (Sciiddcr.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Washington became the first president in 1789. 



EXPANSION 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 
TJw AntJwr of the Declaration of Independence 

Thomas Jefferson was eleven years younger 
than Washington. Although he was born in the 
same state as our military 
hero, he was not influenced 
by the spirit of war, but 
by the spirit of peace. He 
was reared on a large Vir- 
g i n i a plantation. His 
father w^as careful to see 
that he was supplied with 
good books, that he learned 
to ride on horseback 
and to manage a boat on 
the river. He was early 
taught to write a good, legi- 
ble hand, and to be accurate in his work in arith- 
metic. His father used to read to him from the 
dramas of Shakespeare, the letters of Addison, and 
the poems of Pope. When Thomas was fourteen 
years old, his father died, but his training was not 
neglected by his mother. It is believed that he re- 
ceived from her his taste for writing, and his dis- 

235 




THOMAS JEFFERSON 



836 Expansion 

like for strife. When he was seventeen years of 
age, he entered William and Mary college. Here 
he had the opportunity to continue his study of 
music and of language, for he was fond of both. 
As soon as he completed his college work, he be- 
gan the study of law ; this he pursued as faithfully 
as he had done his work at college. After he was 
admitted to the practice of law, he soon won a place 
among the leading lawyers of his time. 

Jefferson was not an orator, but his ability as a 
writer and a deep thinker has always been recog- 
nized. We will always remember him as the one 
who wrote the Declaration of Independence. He 
did his work on it so well that scarcely a word was 
changed when it was accepted by the committee, 
and adopted by Congress. He stated so plainly 
why the colonies asked for freedom from British 
rule that the world recognized this as one of the 
ablest documents ever written. It is not strange 
that we honor the name of Jefferson. The year 
after the treaty of peace was signed, he was sent 
as our minister, or representative, to the republic 
of France. He remained five years in France ; he 
Avas not therefore in our country at the time when 
our Constitution was written. During those years 
there were exciting times in France; for a great 
revolution was threatening that country, and Jef- 
ferson became more enthusiastic than ever that the 



Thomas Jefferson 



237 



/:.,-• 



best government was one by the people, for the 
good of all the people. 

When Washington was elected president of the 
United States, he wanted Jefferson to become his 
secretary of state. To be asked to help at the be- 
ginning of the new government was an honor ; for 
Washington wanted the ablest men in our country 
to help him. Jefferson 
would have preferred to 
remain at his home, 
which he called Monti- 
cello, meaning little 
mountain. He finally 
yielded, however, to the 
wishes of Washington 
and accepted the posi- 
tion ff e r e d . He re- 
m a i n e d a member of 
Washington's cabinet 
for five years. At last, 
tired of party disputes 
and wranglings, he re- 
tired to his home at Monticello. Washington and 
Jefferson were kindred spirits in the enjoyment of 
country life. While Jefferson was in France, he 
sent many seeds and plants to be tried in America's 
fertile soil. 

When Washington retired from public life, John 
Adams was elected president, and Tliomas Jeffer- 




JOHN ADAMS 



238 Expansion 

son vice-president. Four years later, Jefferson 
himself was elected president of the United States. 
He believed in simple manners of life, for he had 
seen much of the pomp of court life while he was in 
France, and he did not think that it was consistent 
in a country governed by the people. When he was 
inaugurated president of the United States, he did 
away with all parade. He introduced leather laces 
for shoes instead of the buckles which had been so 
long in use. It was through him that the present 
system of dollars and cents in our money system 
was established. He was also the founder of the 
University of Virginia. Perhaps the most far- 
reaching event of his work as president of the 
United States was the purchase from France of 
the vast tract of territory called Louisiana. Jeffer- 
son served his country for two successive terms. 
On the fourth day of July, 1826, while bells were 
ringing and cannons were booming in celebration 
of the fifty-first anniversary of the nation's birth, 
the life work of both Thomas Jefferson and John 
Adams was ended. 



Thomas Jefferson • 239 

SUGGESTIONS 

What great men lived at the time of Jefiferson? 

Compare the boyhood of Washington with that of Jeffer- 
son. 

How long did Jefferson serve his country ? 

Difificiilt words — legible, approve, conventional, succession, 
consistent. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
America's Story for American Children. — (Pratt.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. 



THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA 



A 7'erntory Seven Times as Great as Thai of Great Britain 

and Ireland 

The purchase of the vast territory west of the 
Mississippi river called Louisiana, was of more im- 
portance than anyone at 
that time realized. Per- 
haps the men who ar- 
ranged for this purchase 
imderstood its importance 
better than any one else; 
])ut even they could not 
foresee that in future 
years millions of people 
would there make happy 
homes. U]3 to this time the 
western boundary of the 
United States had been the 
Mississippi river. We did 
not own even the western bank of this great river, 
nor did we control its entrance into the Gulf of 
Mexico. The mouth of the Mississippi and all of 
the territory lying to the west belonged to Spain; 
for at the close of the war between France and En- 
gland, France lost Canada and her territory east of 
the Mississippi, and retained only New Orleans 

240 




D'lBEllVlLLE 
First French Governor 



Purchase of Louisiana 



241 



and that unexplored region west of tlie Mississippi 
which was called Louisiana. France had grown 
tired of trying to have colonies in America ; so she 
decided to transfer all of Louisiana to Spain. 
Louis XV, who signed the treaty for France in 
1763, hoped by this means to win the good- will of 
Spain. The treaty, however, was kept a secret, 
and it was more than five 
years before Spain began 
to send governors to Lou- 
isiana. 

France had always re- 
gretted that she had given 
up Louisiana. She tried, 
again and again, to buy it 
back from Spain; but she 
was unsuccessful. When 
Napoleon Bonaparte be- 
came first consul, or ruler 
of France, he strove for 
three years to get possession of Louisiana. Finally, 
in 1800, a definite agreement was reached. In ex- 
change for the Louisiana territory, France gave to 
Spain a kingdom of at least a million people. This 
kingdom was situated north of Italy. The treaty 
thus made was kept a secret, because Napoleon did 
not want England to know that the territory had 
been transferred to France. But it was not long 
until both England and the United States learned 




DON DE ULLOA 

First Spanish Governor 



242 



Expansion 



that Louisiana had again come under the control 
of France. Napoleon was ambitious to build up a 
great French settlement in America. England was 
determined to defeat him in this plan. She at once 
sent a fleet of twenty vessels to the Gulf of Mexico. 
This troubled Napoleon Bonaparte ; for he realized 

how helpless he was to de- 
fend Louisiana against the 
invasion of England. 

Our president, Thomas 
Jefferson, had already sent 
Eobert Livingston to try to 
arrange for the purchase of 
the island on which stands 
the city of New Orleans, 
and also to make arrange- 
ments for the free naviga- 
river. At that time we had 
no hope of getting possession of the territory west 
of the MississipjDi, but we realized how important 
it was to have an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico 
through this great river. 

Livingston worked untiringly; he tried to show 
NajDoleon how useless it was for him to attempt to 
plant colonies in America. After a few months, 
James Monroe was sent to Paris to assist Living- 
ston. The work that Livingston had done was be- 
ginning to bear fruit. Even before the arrival of 
Monroe, Napoleon had said, ''It is not only New 




NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 



tion of the Mississipi3i 



Purchase of Louisiana 243 

Orleans I will cede ; it is tlie wliole colony, witliout 
any reservation." This was a great surprise to 
both Livingston and Monroe. At first the purchase 
was thought to be too great an undertaking for our 
young republic. It was finally decided, however, 
that the United States should pay France fifteen 
million dollars for the territory called Louisiana. 

The exact boundaries of this vast tract of land 
were not known. The difference of a few thousand 
square miles was not then thought to be of much 
importance. Our agents were well assured that 
the eastern boundary was the Mississippi river, 
from its source to its mouth ; but its source was not 
then known. On the north it was bounded by the 
territory belonging to Great Britain. The south- 
ern and western boundaries Avere vague and uncer- 
tain, and here were the beginnings of future trou- 
bles. 

It was understood that the treaty did not include 
the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, the 
northern part of which, sixteen years later, became 
our territory at the time that we purchased Florida 
from Spain. But it included the land now occu- 
pied in part by the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, 
Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Ne- 
braska, Wyoming, Minnesota, North Dakota, South 
Dakota, and Montana. It is stated that the area of 
this territory is more than seven times that of 
Great Britain and Ireland, or more than four times 



344 



Expansion 



that of the German empire. It is larger than Great 
Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and 
Italy combined. 

On April 30, 1803, as soon as the treaty was 
signed, the three ministers, Livingston and Monroe 
of the United States, and Marbois of Prance, arose 
and shook hands. Mr. Livingston, voicing the 







THE CABILDO IN 1792 



kindly feeling that existed among them, said : ''We 
have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our 
lives. The treaty which we have just signed has 
not been obtained by art, or dictated by force. 
Equally advantageous to the two contracting par- 
ties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing 
districts. Prom this day the United States takes 
its place among the powers of the first rank ; and 



Purciiasl; of Louisiana 245 

the English lose all exclusive influence in the af- 
fairs of America." 

As Napoleon laid down his pen, after having 
signed the treaty, he is reported to have said: 
''This accession of territory strengthens forever 
the power of the United States; and I have just 
given to England a maritime rival that will sooner 
or later humble her pride." 

While the plans for this treaty were being con- 
sidered, the people of the territory of Louisiana 
were still living under 
the Spanish flag and 
under a Spanish gov- 
ernor. It was not un- 
til November 30, 1803, 
that Louisiana was 
formally given by 
Spain to France. The 
ceremony took place 

•^ ^ THE CABILDO IN 1914 

at the old Cabildo, or 

council hall in New Orleans. The Spanish banner 
was lowered, and the tricolor of the French was 
placed on the tall flagstaff. 

The excitement about this transfer had scarcely 
subsided when a vessel arrived from Bordeaux, 
France, bringing the news that Louisiana had been 
bought by the United States. In thirty days from 
the time that the French had taken possession, 
there was another ceremony. The representatives 




246 



Expansion 




WM. C. C. CLAIBORNE 



of Napoleon stood on the central balcony of the 
Cabiklo awaiting the arrival of the representatives 

of the United States. 
These soon came, led by 
Wilkinson, commander-in- 
chief of the army, and 
Claiborne, governor of 
Mississippi territory. It 
was then high noon, and 
after the representatives 
were seated the French 
minister arose, and ex- 
plained the purpose o f 
the gathering. Secretaries 
then read the treaty in 
both French and English. Claiborne read his au- 
thority from Presi- 



d e n t Jefferson to 
receive the prov- 
ince. The French 
minister then gave 
t o Claiborne the 
keys of the city, 
saying, so that all 
m i g h t hear : "I 
proclaim that all 
citizens and inhabi- 
tants of Louisiana 
are from this mo- 




Purchase of Louisiana 247 

inent relieved from their oath of fidelity to the 
French republic." He then invited Claiborne to 
take the central seat, and he himself took a seat 
by his side. Governor Claiborne assured the peo- 
ple that the United States would receive them as 
brethren, and that their proj)erty, rights, and re- 
ligion would be protected. 

During all the ceremony, the great flag of France 
had been floating at the top of the flagstaff. Slowly 
now it descended. A French officer received it in 
his arms, and, wrapping it around his body, he 
walked to the French quarters. Then they floated 
to the breeze the "Stars and Stripes", and the 
Louisiana territory became a part of our United 
States. 



248 



Expansion 
SUGGESTIONS 



Trace on your map the territory of Louisiana. 
Why was its purchase important? 

Difficult words — cede, advantageous, maritime, transfer, 
reservations, contracting, solitude, accession. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Children's Stories of American Progress. — (IVrigJit.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The United States paid France fifteen million dollars for 
the Louisiana territory. 




LEWIS AND CLARK EXPLORE THE NEW 
TERRITORY 

TJicy Opened the Way for Traders and Settlers 

The great northwest had always been interesting 
to Thomas Jefferson, who was president of the 
United States at the time of the purchase of Lou- 
isiana. Years before this, when he was our min- 
ister to France, he Iiad met a man by the name of 
John Ledyard, who Avas trying to organize a fur 
trading company in order that the valuable furs 
of this section might be sent to the United States 
rather than to England. Jefferson proposed to 
Ledyard that he go to Kamchatka, cross the Pacific 
ocean in a Eussian vessel, and then explore the 
interior. Ledyard agreed to do this, if Jefferson 
would secure permission from the Russian em- 
press. This Jefferson did; but just as Ledyard 
was about to start from Kamchatka, near Avhich 
place he had passed the winter, he was stopped by 
officers, and was told that the Russian empress had 
changed her mind, and that she would not allow 
him to go. Thus the first effort to learn something 
of the great west was suddenl}^ at an end. 

When the purchase of Louisiana had been com- 
pleted, President Jefferson sent an account of the 
country to Congress. It was impossible then to get 

249 



250 



Expansion 




YELLOWSTONE FALLS 



Liiwis AND C1.ARK Explokl: Tkrritory 



251 



■•X 



accurate descriptions of this unknown country ; but 
we now know that it would have been hard to exag- 
gerate the grandeur of the natural scenery, or the 
great wealth which lay hidden in the mines, or the 
productiveness of the soil of this country. He told 
Congress that the great 
prairies were covered with 
immense herds of buffa- 
loes, and that there were 
bluffs carved by the hand 
of nature resembling great 
towers. Congress became 
so interested in the new 
territory that it Avas de- 
cided to send an exploring 
party to trace the Mis- 
souri river to its source, 
to cross the Rocky Moun- 
tains, or Stony Mountains, 
as they were sometimes 
called, and then to reach 
the sea by the rivers. 
They hoped by this means to locate the great water- 
ways, which, in opening up a new country, were 
then even more important than now. 

This expedition was led by two officers named 
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. These 
young men were of good Virginia families, and 




MERIWETHER LEWIS 



252 



Expansion 



were familiar with frontier life. They were given 
careful instructions about what they should do. 
First, they were told to keep a careful record of all 
that they did, and all that they saw. In order to 
safeguard their records, they were instructed to 
keep two copies; one of these was to be on birch 
bark, because it would not be so easily destroyed as 

paper. They were to make 
a careful study of the In- 
dian tribes so that it might 
be easier to establish trade 
with them. They were also 
to report about the soil, cli- 
mate, minerals, plant life, 
mountains, rivers, lakes, 
and strange animals that 
roamed in the forests. On 
May 14, 1804, Lewis and 
Clark with a small band of 
soldiers and Kentucky 
volunteers, set out from St. 
Louis, which was then a 
small village. They had three small boats which 
were heavily loaded with supplies and presents for 
the Indians. One of the boats was forty-five feet 
long and had a deck over a part of it. The others 
were open row boats. This party was able to go 
from ten to twenty miles a day against the turbid 
waters of the Missouri river. At first thev could 




WILLIAM CLARK 



Lewis and Clark Explore Territory 253 

see the scattered houses of French settlers and 
traders, but as they advanced they saw fewer and 
fewer signs of settlement. 

By the 21st of October, they had reached the vil- 
lages of the Mandan Indians, which were near what 
is now the city of Bismark, North Dakota. Every- 
thing told them that winter was fast approaching. 
The last swans had gone south, and the frost hung 
heavily on the trees until midday. The Indians 
were friendly, and helped 
them build their log 
houses for the winter. 
There was plenty of 
game, and the explorers 
settled down to a quiet 
winter. 

^ They made short excur- monticello 

sions on the frozen river, 

and traveled through the nearby forests ; but their 
greatest entertainment was sitting around the fires, 
and listening to the strange stories which the red 
men told of hunting and fishing, and of the brave 
deeds of their warriors. 

When spring came, the party divided, one part 
returning down the river in the long boat. They 
put in it specimens of stuffed animals, Indian 
curios, plants, seeds, salt, minerals, and various 
kinds of soil. For many years these sj^ecimens 




254 Expansion 

were kept at Jefferson's liome at Monticello. The 
other part continued their course np the Missouri 
river. They went through North Dakota into Mon- 
tana. Their journey became difficult, and after 
they had gone for sometime, they could hear the 
distant roar of the Great Falls. They were de- 
lighted at the beauty of the scenery, and wrote a 
glowing description of it. It was not an easy task 
to get the boats and sup2)lies around the falls. 
Everything had to be carried eighteen miles on 
rude wagons, the wheels of which they made out of 
sections of the trunks of cottonwood trees. They 
soon came to a rocky gorge, which they named 
"The Gate of the Rocky Mountains." Passing 
through this gateway, they came to the head waters 
of the Missouri. They had been able to accomplish 
two things: they had made friends with the In- 
dians, and had found the source of the Missouri 
river. This mighty river was now nothing more 
than a brook over which they could easily step. 

In a short time they crossed the mountains and 
came to another stream. They followed this stream 
for three days, and found that it flowed into a 
larger one, which proved to be the Columbia river. 
They spent many weeks in finding the mouth of 
this river. One morning the fog was so dense that 
they could see only the outlines of the hills and 
mountains ; but suddenly the fog lifted, and before 
them lav the waters of the Pacific. It was now 



Lewis and Clark Explore Territory 255 

November, 1805, and their long journey of over 
four thousand miles was ended. It was too near 
the winter season to think of an immediate return ; 
so they planned to spend the winter on the Pacific 
coast, under quite different circumstances, how- 
ever, from those under which people now go to 
spend the winter on the coast. 

They prej^ared their camp, and, as they did the 
previous winter, they spent their time in becoming 
acquainted with conditions of the new country, and 
in trading with the Indians. The winter was mild, 
and in March they began their return journey. 
After an absence of a little more than two years 
they returned to St. Louis in safety, and were re- 
ceived with much enthusiasm. The news of their 
successful journey spread throughout the country. 
The rejDort which they gave of the newly acquired 
territory helped people to understand how valu- 
able it might become. The way was now open for 
the fur traders and trappers, who were the fore- 
runners of that great army of settlers who have 
changed the vast plains to farms and gardens, and 
have taken from the bosom of the earth wealth un- 
told. 



256 Expansion 

SUGGESTIONS 

Trace on your map of the United States the route taken 
by Lewis and Clark to reach the Pacific Ocean. 
Where is Kamchatka? 
Difficult words — latitude, grandeur, excursion, forerunner. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Lewis and Clark opened the way to the great northwest. 



THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND WAR WITH 
ENGLAND 

The Real JJ'ar for Independence 

After England promised to recognize onr conn- 
try as a separate nation, there was continnal tron- 
ble for almost tliirty years between the motlier 
conntry and the new republic. The wise words of 
our philosopher, Benjamin Franklin, seemed al- 
most prophetic. Seven years after the treaty of 
peace had been signed, he said that the war which 
bad closed with the surrender of Cornwallis was 
only the war of revolution, and that the war for in- 
dependence was yet to come. 

It is true that England had said that we were 
independent of her control; but in many respects 
she treated us as though we were still one of her 
colonies. It was a critical time for us as we had 
not yet learned to manufacture our own cotton and 
woolen goods as well as many other products. It 
]iad been our custom to send to England for manu- 
factured goods, and she was determined to keep us 
dependent upon her as long as possible. The fact 
that England was at war with France, was un- 
fortunate for us ; for it placed our ships at sea in 
danger of being searched and seized. England said 
that we could not trade with her enemy, France, 



258 Expansion 

Kor witli any territory belonging to France. Wher- 
ever England found one of our ships, she would 
stop it. She claimed the right to find out what it 
carried, and whither it was bound. If she believed 
that we were in any way violating her orders, she 
would take the vessel for her own. England did 
not even stop with thus damaging our trade, or 
commerce, but she also claimed the right to ques- 
tion our seamen. If she found any of them that 
were Englishmen, she compelled them to go on 
board English vessels. She claimed that an En- 
glishman could not become an American. "Once 
an Englishman, always an Englishman," was her 
claim, but we insisted that such a claim was unjust. 
The searching and seizing of our vessels wrought 
great hardshiiD to our commerce, for we were not 
certain that the men who manned our vessels would 
be allowed to take them to their landing. 

We had hoped to avoid trouble with France, for 
we well remembered how that country had helped 
us to free ourselves from England. Napoleon was 
now the ruler of France, and when he learned what 
England had done, he would not allow our vessels 
to trade with England. He immediately issued de- 
crees that vessels should not enter or leave British 
ports, and that vessels that allowed British officers 
to search them should forfeit themselves to France. 

It was a choice between surrendering our vessels 
to England or to France. England had more ves- 



Second War With England ' 259* 

sels on the liigli seas, and it is probable that she 
secured the greater number of our vessels. The 
only way to insure safety to our commerce was to 
keep our vessels in our own harbors. Our peace- 
loving president, Thomas Jeiferson, thought that 
it would be best to keep our vessels at home. Con- 
gress then issued what has been called "The Em- 
bargo Act." This act prohibited our vessels from 
leaving our harbors. The plan was to injure the 
commerce of Great Britain and of France. But 
it ruined our own commerce instead, for we could 
not send away the rich products of our fields and 
forests. Soon there was much complaining about 
what had been done. Many people said that the 
word ' ' embargo ' ' should be spelled backwards, and 
that it really was an ''O Grab Me Act." When 
James Madison became president, Congress did 
away with the old law, and made a new one which 
allowed our vessels to go to any country except 
Great Britain. It was not long until Great Britain 
and France were each Avilling to allow our vessels 
to trade with the other country. We were much 
encouraged at this, and thought that our troubles 
were at an end, but, in a short time, England was 
again unwilling that we should trade with France. 
We considered this an insult to our indepen- 
dence. We believed that we had a right to trade 
wherever we pleased, and that the sailors on our 
vessels ought not to be molested. We believed in 



• 260 Expansion 

the motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights." It 
was somewhat difficult to decide whether we ought 
to declare war against England or against France. 
It would be impossible to oppose both of them with 
a hope of success. It soon became clear that En- 
gland was the greater offender; for she had con- 
tinued to hold military posts on our frontier. 
These she had refused to give up, and she was con- 
stantly stirring up trouble between our pioneer set- 
tlers and the Indians. The trouble on land, how- 
ever, was not the princij^al trouble ; for if war must 
come, it was to be a sailors' war. And this would 
decide whether or not our seamen could sail the 
high seas without being questioned by British offi- 
cers. It would also decide whether our ships would 
be safe from the attack of the British. 

One night Commodore Rodgers, commanding 
the American frigate, President, was cruising near 
the coast of Sandy Hook. He noticed a strange 
craft, and hailed it. Instead of a polite answer, 
such as he had a right to exj^ect, he received a can- 
non ball in the mainmast of his vessel. Rodgers 
returned the fire, and in a short time the guns of 
the enemy were silenced. Rodgers and his men 
waited anxiously for the morning. The first red 
rays of the morning revealed the fact that the un- 
known vessel was the British Little Belt, Each ves- 
sel turned homeward. The event caused great ex- 
citement in both countries. It was a vear mitil war 



Second War With England 261 

was forinaliy declared, but it was a year of anxious 
I^reparation. Four new states had already Immju 
made a part of tlie United States, and now Lou- 
isiana, the fifth state, was admitted. Thus eighteen 
states and a vast unorganized territory took up 
arms against the country from whom the thirteen 
colonies had declared their independence about 
thirty years before. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why was this called the "Sailors' war"? 

What did England mean by the expression, "Once an En- 
glishman always an Englishman"? 

Difficult words — recognize, violate, wrought, decree, em- 
bargo, prophetic. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

This war of 181:3 settled the question about American sea- 
men. Their rights have since been respected. 



HOW THE WAR WAS MANAGED 
This War is sonietimes Called the Sailors' War 

When we could no longer endure England's cruel 
and oppressive acts, a declaration of war was is- 
sued by Congress. This was on the nineteenth of 
June, 1812. As in the war of the Revolution, we 
planned that one man act as commander-in-chief 
of the American armies. General Henry Dearborn 
of Massachusetts was chosen for this responsible 
position. He was to be given an army of seventy- 
five thousand soldiers, including the new volun- 
teers. Then the government was to borrow eleven 
million dollars to meet the expenses of the war. 
This seemed a large offering of men and of money, 
but not too large for the youngest of civilized na- 
tions to use in a war against one of the oldest and 
most powerful. 

To the north of the United States lay Canada, a 
British possession. It was but natural that this 
should be one of the chief points of attack. It was 
accordingly decided to attack the British at De- 
troit, and if possible, to gain an entrance to Canada 
at this place. While General Hull was getting 
everything in readiness for the conflict at Detroit, 
a massacre took place on ground that is now within 
the city of Chicago. This place was then called 

262 



How Thiv War Was Managed 263 

Fort Dearborn, and was first established in 1803. 
There were about fifty soldiers with their families 
stationed at this fort. General Hull ordered them 
to join his forces at Detroit. A journey of more 
than two hundred miles through the wilderness 
was a dangerous undertaking in time of war. Be- 
fore leaving, the captain of the fort decided to call 



.^^,, 



FORT DEARBORN 
(By permision of the Illinois Historical Society) 

a council of the friendly Indians. He told them 
that he was going on a long journey, and that he 
would give them everything at the fort that he 
could not take with him. The Indians were greatly 
pleased at the prospect of receiving these gifts. 
After the captain of the little band had everything 
in readiness for the long journey, he destroyed all 



264 Expansion 

of the guns and gunpowder that he could not take 
with him. These were the very things that the In- 
dians most highly prized; and when the Indians 
discovered the trick the next day, they were sorely 
disappointed, and were determined to have re- 
venge. 

The Indians immediately followed, and con- 
cealed themselves behind a low ridge of sand-hills. 
When the little band from the fort came within 
firing distance, the Indians rushed out from their 
hiding, and mercilessly destroyed the men, women, 
and children. 

The next day after this massacre, the British 
general demanded the surrender of Detroit. Gen- 
eral Hull was in command of the American troops, 
and everything seemed favorable to his success. It 
is true that there were many more British soldiers 
than there were American soldiers, but the Amer- 
icans had by far the better position. Everything 
was in perfect readiness for the battle, when the 
British general noticed a white flag — a table cloth 
— fluttering from the American fort. He sent a 
messenger to inquire what it meant, and was sur- 
prised when he was told that General Hull had de- 
cided to surrender the fort. General Hull not only 
gave up the fort, but he also surrendered to the 
British the entire territory of Michigan. General 
Hull was severely criticised for thus giving the fort 
and territory to the British without resistance. 



How THt; War Was Managed 



265 



This, llo^veve^, did not put an end to our efforts 
to go into Canada. Tlie Americans were not so 
successful with their battles on the land as they 
were with their battles on the water. Since this 
was a war for the rights of sailors, it was not 
strange that many of the battles were on the sea. 
The English people did not consider that the Amer- 




THB CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 

ican ships were at all to be feared. They said that 
one of the shijis, the Constitution, was "A bunch 
of pine boards, under a bit of striped bunting." 

Soon after the surrender of Detroit, this same 
ship, the Constitution, was engaged in a battle witli 
the British ship, the Guerriere. In a short con- 
test the Guerriere was so badly disabled that it 
could do little damage to the Constitution. Cap- 



266 Expansion 

tain Hull, who was a nephew of General Hull, sent 
an officer to take possession of the Guerriere. The 
captain of the English vessel was slow to surren- 
der. Captain Hull insisted on a definite answer. 
He wanted to know whether he should consider 
the British captain a prisoner of war or an enemy. 
At last came the reluctant reply : " If I could fight 
longer, I would with pleasure; but I — must — sur- 
render — myself — a — prisoner of war!" You can 
find the location of this battle by drawing a line 
east from Cape Cod, and another south from Cape 
Race. The point where the lines meet locates very 
nearly the place where the vessels met. 

Another important engagement between British 
ynd American warships was the one known as Com- 
modore Perry's victory on Lake Erie. The English 
had six vessels on this lake, and they believed that 
they controlled Lake Erie. Indeed, England styled 
herself the "Mistress of the Sea." 

The task of building a squadron to fight the En- 
glish on Lake Erie was assigned to Commodore 
Perry, then only twenty-seven years of age. He 
had never seen a naval battle ; but he had faith in 
himself and in the men who were to help him. Day 
after day the men worked, getting ready the vessels 
that were soon to engage in battle with the English. 
At length they were ready to float their ships over 
the bar. At sunrise Perry saw the enemy ap- 
proaching. He understood sailing, and he ad- 



How THD War Was Managed 267 

vancecl with his ships arranged in the form of an 
acute angle. The British guns were so superior 
that his defeat seemed certain. His flagship, the 
Lawrence, was badly injured early in the engage- 
ment. When Perry saw that it could no longer 
be used, he took his flag, and ordered his rowers 
to take him over to the Niagara, the ship next in 
size to the Laivrence. With his flag floating over 
him, he stood in the stern of the little boat, while 
every British ship aimed its guns at him. The 
heroism shoAvn during those flfteen minutes will 
never be forgotten by loyal Americans. With flag 
in hand, he climbed on board the Niagara. Then 
came a turn in the battle, for he steered straight 
for the enemy's line. The next few minutes de- 
cided the fate of the battle. At the end of that time 
tlie once proud British fleet was only a wreck. One 
after another, the British vessels ran up the white 
flag. The Laivrence was still afloat, and Perry re- 
turned to it to receive the surrender of the British 
commander. 

When the battle was over. Perry took an old let- 
ter from his pocket, and using the top of his navy 
cap as a writing desk, he wrote these words, "We 
have met the enemy, and they are ours." He ad- 
dressed his message to General Harrison, and went 
about his duties, never dreaming that his nine sliort 
words would become a part of our nation's history. 



S68 Expansion 

In order to draw the Americans away from Ca- 
nada, the English decided to attack the cities that 
coukl be reached by water. A¥ashington, the cap- 
ital, was selected for the first attack. The British 
landed their troops forty miles southeast of the 
city. They met with little opposition in their ad- 
vance. At eight o'clock that same evening they 
marched uj^on the capital. The most valuable rec- 
ords had already been removed from the city. Mrs. 
Madison, the wife of the president, had carried to 
a, place of safety, the original draft of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, and also a portrait of Wash- 
ington that had been hanging in the White House. 
The British burned all of the public buildings ex- 
cept the one which contained the patent office and 
the post-office. This was spai'ed because it held so 
many models and papers that were valuable to all 
the world. 

It was not long until the British attempted also 
to destroy Baltimore. Forty British war vessels 
ap]ieared near this city. They did not, however, 
find the city unprepared. The people had expected 
that an attack would be made, and had thrown up 
embankments. Fort McHenry received the heavy 
part of the attack. The bombardment of this fort 
led to the writing of one of our national songs. 
Francis Scott Key, under a flag of truce, had gone 
out in a rowboat to ask for the parole of a friend 
who had been taken prisoner. The British admiral 



How THE War Was Managed 269 

detained him. With his little boat fastened to the 
side of the admiral's flag-ship, he sat and watched 
the bomljardment. When the second morning 
dawned, and he saw by the rockets' red glare that 
the flag of our country was still there, he took an 
old letter out of his pocket, and wrote on the back 
of it out national hymn, "The Star-Spangled Ban- 
ner." So well had our brave men defended the 
fort that the British were forced to give up the at- 
tack on Baltimore. 

All this time war had been raging on both land 
and sea. At length England asked the United 
States to send representatives to meet in a joint 
conference, and to arrange for peace. The United 
States willingly agreed to the proposal, and accord- 
ingly sent five men to represent our interests. The 
convention met at Ghent, Belgium, on August 8, 
1814. The British representatives briefly pre- 
sented their demands, but they were promptly re- 
fused by the American commissioners. For sev- 
eral months these representatives from both coun- 
tries discussed the disputed questions, and on De- 
cember 24th they signed the treaty of peace. There 
was at that time no Atlantic cable, and while the 
good news of the treaty of peace was being brought 
to us on a vessel, Andrew Jackson achieved one of 
the most brilliant victories of the entire war. 



270 Expansion 

SUGGESTIONS 

Explain how tlie war at first seemed to center about the 
Great Lakes. 

Why did England plan to attack our sea coast cities? 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Memorize the "Star-Spangled Banner." 



ANDREW JACKvSON 
TJie Hero of the Last Battle of the War of 1812 

We tliink of Andrew Jackson as a great military 
leader, and then as president of the United States. 
In early boyhood he devel- 
oped those traits of charac- 
ter that helped to make him 
the great hero. 

His parents came f r o jn 
Ireland to Charleston, South 
Carolina, at the time when 
there was great excitement 
about the Stamp Act. They 
had known much about op- 
pression in their old home 
land, and they naturally re- 
sented any form of tyranny. 

When Andrew was nine 
years old, he heard some men 
talking about a ''Declara- 
tion of Indei^endence. " He 
did not exactly understand 
what a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence meant ; but as he andrew jackson 
watched men make swords out of old saws, and 
melt pewter nuigs into bullets, he realized that it 
meant resistance to oppression. 




271 



272 Expansion 

The British finally raided the settlement on 
Waxhaw creek, where he lived. Both Andrew and 
an elder brother were taken prisoners of war. One 
day a hanghty officer ordered Andrew to clean his 
boots. The Scotch-Irish blood in this lad of four- 
teen years recoiled at such a request. Quick as a 
flash came the response : ' ' Sir, I am a prisoner of 
war, not a servant. Clean them yourself". The 
officer struck him with his sword. It was a cruel 
blow, and Andrew carried the scar through life. 

That act made a deep impression in the life of 
the boy. He had felt the hand of the oppressor. 
Many years passed, and the boy became a man. 
He grew in influence and power, and in time be- 
came a lawyer, a member of Congress, a farmer, 
a senator, and a judge. In every j^osition in life he 
was resi^ected, for he was honest and trustworthy. 

Pie had already proved himself to be a leader, 
and when the war with England broke out in 1812, 
he was made commander of the forces of the 
United States in the southwest. At this time Flor- 
ida still belonged to Spain, and the Spaniards 
sympathized with the British. Jackson told the 
Spaniards that they must not take sides with either 
Great Britain or the United States, but that they 
must remain neutral. When he found that they 
paid no attention to his orders, he drove the British 
who were in Florida out of that x^^irt of the country. 



Anpruw Jackson 373 

Wliile lie was engaged in tliis work, he learned 
tliat the British Avere planning to attack New 
Orleans. The British admiral was so confident of 
success that he said, ' ' I shall eat my Christmas din- 
ner in New Orleans". A¥hen General Jackson 
heard this, he remarked, "Perhaps so, l)ut I shall 
have the honor of presiding at that dinner." 

Jackson put ever3^one to work getting ready to 
resist an attack from the great English arm}^ 
Hundreds of men were set to work digging ditches 
and throwing up earthworks for protection. One 
rich cotton owner asked Jackson to appoint a 
guard to protect his cotton. "Certainly," said 
Jackson. "Here, sergeant, give this gentleman a 
musket and ammunition. No one is better quali- 
fied to guard cotton than the man who ow^ns it." 

These fortifications were made none too quickly ; 
for on the eighth of January, 1815, the great army 
of the king of England began the attack. General 
Jackson seemed to be everywhere at the same time, 
encouraging his men. "Stand to your guns," he 
shouted to some. To others, "See that every shot 
tells." In less than half an hour the ])attle was 
won. Andrew Jackson had kept the British from 
entering the Mississippi valley. His name was 
now on the lips of everyone. Congress gave him a 
vote of thanlvs, and ordered that a gold medal be 
ffiven him for his braverv. 

18 



274 Expansion 

Scarcely had tlie excitement about the victory at 
New Orleans died away, when the news came that 
peace had already been declared. While nothing 
was said in the terms of the treaty about the rights 
of our seamen or the wrongs done to our com- 
merce, it was well understood that our citizens and 
oar property would be both respected and pro- 
tected by the government of Great Britain. It is 
now a hundred years since that treaty was signed, 
and England has ever since resjDected our rights. 



SUGGESTIONS 

What public positions did Jackson fill? 

Name some of the elements of Jackson's character that 
helped him to succeed. 

Compare the life of Andrew Jackson with that of Thomas 
J efferson. 

Difficult words — oppression, recoiled, haughty, neutral. 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The battle of New Orleans was fought after the treaty of 
peace was signed. 



ELI WHITNEY 



The Inventor of the Cotton Gin 

The period of one liimclred years following the 
Revolutionary war might well be called the age of 
inventions. Many of the great improvements that 
have helped in the development of our country, 

were made during that 
time. First of all in this 
list is the cotton-gin, in- 
vented by Eli Whitney in 
1793. W li i t n e y was at 
that time a young man, 
a n d had just graduated 
from Yale College. Pie 
liad gone to Georgia to 
open a private school. 
Through the kindness of 
Mrs. Greene, widow of 
General Greene of the Revolutionary war, he met 
several Georgia planters who had been comrades of 
General Greene. These planters knew that their 
country was well suited for raising cotton, but the 
process of taking the seeds out by hand was so slow 
that it could not be a profitable crop. Qne person 
could separate only about a pound of cotton from 

275 




ELI WHITNEY 



276 Expansion 

the seed in a clay. Surely here was need, for a ma- 
chine which would do the work more quickly. 

Young Wliitney had probably never seen cotton 
as it was when picked from the bolls, but after his 
interview with these planters he went to Savannah 
and got a small package of seed-cotton. He then 
picked out the seeds, and, measuring them, noticed 
how the fluffy filjre clung to them. He had alwa^^s 
loved to work with machinery, and when he was a 
boy he improved many pieces of farm machin- 
ery. He sharpened knives and axes, replaced 
Ijroken knife-blades with new ones, and even 
though only a boy, he was, nevertheless, con- 
sidered the best mechanic in his town. During the 
Revolutionary war, he made nails for which there 
was great demand. After peace with England was 
declared, nailmaking was no longer a profitable 
business. Fashion, however, soon opened up as 
paying a business as war. The making of long 
metal pins with which ladies fastened their bon- 
nets furnished him profitable employment. 

Tlie conversation with the planters had set Whit- 
ney at work on a machine to separate the seed from 
the cotton. This was an opportunity to use in a 
practical way the knowledge that he had gained 
from the use of tools. The making of a new ma- 
chine for this purpose was a slow process; for 
he himself had to make many things that he needed. 



Eli Whitney 277 

He devised a machine liaving a network of wires 
tlirougli which the cotton, bnt not the seeds, could 
pass. A set of wire needles or prongs turned 
round and round just under the wires, caught the 
cotton fibre, and pulled it through the Avires, while 
the seeds slid down out of the way. A revolving 
brush kept the prongs clean, so that they could 
again catch more cotton. 

Before he had his model completed, it became 
known that he was at Avork on it, and everybody 
wanted to see it. He did not Avant to shoAv it until 
he had completed it, and had secured his patent 
for it. One night some one broke into his shop, and 
took his model. Before he could make another, 
machines similar to his Avere already being used. 
This Avas a great injustice to the young inventor. 
He did not haA^e money to prosecute those AAdio Avere 
profiting by his iuA^ention. A fcAv years later 
South Carolina voted him fifty thousand dollars 
as a rcAvard for his iuA^ention, and North Carolina 
gave him a royalty for five years on each machine 
that Avas used in the state. It AA^as only after great 
expense and considerable delay that he succeeded 
in collecting the money promised him. When he 
became convinced that he could not make a living 
from his invention, he turned his inventive genius 
to fire-arms for the government. He succeeded so 
Avell in making ncAV improvements that he soon had 
a comfortable living. Although AVhitney lost the 



278 Expansion 

income that was justly due him, yet he received the 
honor for the invention that did so much to develop 
the agricultural interests of the southern states. 



SUGGESTIONS 

What is an invention? 
Why is Eli Whitney called an inventor? 
Explain the principle of the cotton-gin. 

Difficult words — profitable, network, prosecute, distress, dis- 
pute. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Children's Stories of American Progress. — (JVriglit.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The cotton-gin helped to develop agriculture in the southern 
states. 



ROBERT FULTON 



The Inventor of the Steamboat 

Robert Fulton was born in Pennsylvania in 1765, 
the same year in which Eli Whitney was born. 
Among his first inventions were a mill for sawing 
mar])le, a machine for 
sjiinning flax, and a torpe- 
do to be nsed for destroy- 
ing war vessels. Other 
men had been trying to use 
steam to propel their 
boats, but Fulton was the 
first to succeed in the ef- 
fort. In August, 1807, 
when he was about to 
start his Clermont on 
its trial ivvp from New 
Y o r k to Albany, great 
niunbers of people gath- 
ered to see the strange 

vessel. The wheels began to turn, and the crowd, 
which was prepared either to cheer or jeer, broke 
forth in the wildest shouts of enthusiasm. The city 
of Albany, one hundred fifty miles away, was 
reached in thirty-four hours. 

279 




ROBERT FULTON 



380 . Expansion 

The use of steam in navigation was now a reality. 
Many improvements were still needed, but the prin- 
ciple of navigation by the use of steam had been 
proved. A few years later Congress voted three 
hundred twenty thousand dollars with which 
Fulton was to build a steamship for use in war. 
The following year it was completed; but Fulton 
was too ill to watch the launching of the ship. 
Even before his death, steamboats were used on 
many of our rivers. He had done much to develop 
our country by making it possible to carry the 
products of the interior of the country to the sea- 
coast. 



THE CLERMONT 



Robert Fulton 381 

SUGGESTIONS 



Why did congress help Fulton? 

What is a torpedo? 

Difficult words — enthusiasm, navigate, launch. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Children's Stories of American Progress. — {IVriyht.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Steamboats have helped to carry the products of the interior 
to the seacoast. 



SAMUEL F. B. MORSE 



m ^ 



Inventor of the Electric Telegraph 

Long ago there were people living in Greece who 
believed that amber possessed a strange power. 
They called this power electron, for that is the 

Greek w o r d for amber. 
Later this word, having 
])een changed from elec- 
tron to electricity, was ap- 
])lied to the same force. 
It was afterwards found 
that many other sub- 
stances possess the same 
power to attract that am- 
ber does, but the name re- 
mains unchanged. 

Many people experi- 
mented with this force, but 
it remained for an Amer- 
ican portrait j^ainter to show how it could be used 
to send messages. Man has used many devices to 
convey thought from one person to another. The 
skins of animals, birch bark, the homing pigeons, 
and written and printed paper, have all been used, 
either to preserve or to transmit man's messages. 
Samuel P. B. Morse was the first man to employ 

282 




SAMUEL, F. B. MORSE 



Samuel F. B. Morse 283 

the electric force, or current, to carry a message. 
He was on board the ship Stilly, returning from 
Europe, when the idea of sending messages by elec- 
tricity was first presented to him, and before he 
reached New York he had worked out his plan for 
an electric telegraph. His alphabet of signs was 
practically the same as the one now in use. 

His painter's brush was now put aside so as to 
enable him to develop his plan for sending mes- 
sages. He had previously made experiments with 
electricity, but they had been for mere pastime. 
NoAv, however, all his energies were directed to ac- 
complish this purpose. The undertaking was a 
difficult one ; how difficult he did not at first realize. 
Again and again his experiments failed. When his 
instruments would not work, he studied them until 
he found the cause of the failure. 

The little money which he had laid by was soon 
spent, and he was again forced to return to paint- 
ing in order to support his family. But he never 
lost faith in himself. After three years of experi- 
menting, he was able to send a signal on a wire that 
he had circled about his room ; but he could not get 
a return signal. Two more years passed before he 
was able to have a similar, or duplicate, instrument 
made to use at the other end of the wire. When 
this was done he could l^oth send and receive sig- 
nals. In 1837 he demonstrated what he could do, 
and large audiences marveled at his success; but, 



284 Expansion 

as yet, lie had not proved that his iuvention Avould 
be useful. He appealed to Congress to furnish 
money to help him in his undertaking, but he was 
refused assistance. He then went to England ; but 
the people there were not interested. Some said 
that news already traveled fast enough ; and others 
thought that it would do harm rather than good. 

Samuel Morse was not discouraged by the words 
of these people. On his return he again petitioned 
Congress for aid, and would have again met fail- 
ure if he had not been experimenting with the 
"new-fangled invention" in the very building in 
which Congress was assembled. He had strung 
wire from the basement to the ante-room of the 
senate chamber. When the question came before 
the committee as to whether he Avas to receive aid 
or not, one of the members of the committee 
stepped to the little room, and from that place l^oth 
sent and received messages from Morse in the base- 
ment. He was now convinced that the invention 
was a success, and gave his vote for assistance to 
Morse. In the closing hour of Congress they voted 
to give him thirty thousand dollars to build a line 
from Washington to Baltimore. 

The next morning Miss Ellsworth, the daughter 
of the commissioner of patents, met Morse at the 
breakfast table. She congratulated him upon the 
passage of the lull. He was quite overcome when 
she told him that he was now to have money to 



Sam URL F. B. AIorsr 285 

cany out his undertaking. He promised her that 
she should word the first message to be sent over 
tlie wire. Eleven and one-half years had passed 
since he first began to study about electricity on 
the ocean voyage ; success now seemed very near. 

He spent a large part of the money received from 
Congress trying to put the wire under-ground ; but 
in this he did not succeed. At last he adopted the 
plan of stringing the wires on poles with glass in- 
sulators to keep the current away from the wood. 
AVhen everything was full}^ completed, he notihed 
Miss Ellsworth that he was now ready to receive 
from her the words for the first message. In re- 
sponse to his request she sent him these words sug- 
gested by her mother, ' ' What hath Clod wrought '? ' ' 
It was not manv years until even the remote r>arts 
of the country Avere in communication with the 
great, active world. The practical use of the tele- 
graph dispelled all fear that the territory of our 
United States was too large. Some had said that 
we never could ])CCome a powerful nation because 
the extent of our teri'itory was too great. By the 
use of the telegraph, the states to be carved out of 
the great northwest were brought within easy com- 
munication of any part of the country. In order 
to complete the means of conmiunication, it only 
remained to unite the two great continents by 
means of the Atlantic ca])le ; and this was done in 
1866. The Pacific railroad, which came three 



286 Expansion 

3^ears after the Atlantic cable was laid, was only 
a forerunner of the network of railroads that now 
bind together all parts of our country, the East, 
the West, the North, the South. Both steam and 
electricity have become the servants of man, but we 
are only beginning to know their possibilities and 
their power. 

SUGGESTIONS 

What are some of the uses of electricity? 

Write or tell about the most useful invention of which you 
know. 

Difficult words — electric, experiment, demonstrate, congratu- 
late, practical, portrait, transmit, insulator, communication. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Children's Stories of American Progress.— ( FFr/Vy///.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

"That steed called 'Lightning' (say the Fates) 
Is owned hy the United States : 
'Twas Franklin's hand that caught the horse; 
'Twas harnessed hv Professor Morse." 



REMEMBER THE ALAMO 
Texas Became an Independent Republic 

The soutliwesteru boundary of tlie United States 
has not always been so well defined as it now is. 
Long before we purchased Louisiana from France, 
there was trouble between Prance and Spain about 
this territory. In order to establish her claim, 
Spain built a number of missionary fortresses, or 
churches, between the Sabine and Eio Grande 
rivers. These old fortress-churches are now 
mostly in ruins; but there is one of them that is 
especially important, for it stands as a monument 
of heroic deeds. 

More than two hundred years ago the mission 
of Alamo was established on the Rio Grande river. 
The name Alamo means cottonwood, and was 
doubtless taken from the name of the trees which 
grew along tlie river. The mission was afterwards 
moved to San Antonio. After Mexico gained her 
independence from Spain, she wanted to hold the 
territory between these rivers, but she was not in- 
clined to send settlers. She, however, gave permis- 
sion to American settlers to occupy the land. A 
man by the name of Stephen F. Austin brought a 
band of settlers from Connecticut, and in the early 
3^ears of the nineteenth century many people from 

287 



288 



Expansion 



Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and otlier states 
went to make tlieir homes in that part of Mexico. 
Santa Anna, the j)resiclent of Mexico, was afraid 
to allow too many privileges to tliese new settlers ; 
for he remembered tliat thev were Americans, and 




THE ALAMO 



that tliey were filled with the spirit of liberty. He 
therefore issued an order that they should sur- 
render all their arms and ammunition. This, the 
Americans then livinp: in Texas refused to do. 
They adopted the motto: "War in defense of our 
rights. ' ' 



Remember thk Alamo 289 

Samuel Houston was made commander-iu-chief 
of the army of Texas. He was well prepared for 
this i3osition, for he had already won the name of a 
successful Indian fighter, and had been sent by 
President Jackson to San Antonio to make a treaty 
with the Comanche Indians. It was while on this 
mission that the people of Texas learned of his 
ability to cope with problems of pioneer life. They 
felt that they needed just sucli a man to help them 
to settle their differences witli Mexico. Soon after 
lie took command, he drove the Mexicans from San 
Antonio. This aroused the people of Mexico, and 
they determined to conquer the Texans. 

In 1836 Santa Anna came to San Antonio with 
an army of four thousand men. Within the Alamo 
were oidy one hundred forty-five brave men of 
Texas. Colonel Travis was the commander of this 
little band. Daily they had expected an army to 
come to their relief, but all the relief that did come, 
was a band of only thirty-two men. Santa Anna 
demanded the surrender of the fort, but these brave 
men refused the demand. They preferred to meet 
death bravely defending themselves rather than to 
be massacred at the hand of their enemy after they 
had surrendered. For ten days and nights the 
firing continued, until there was not one of the 
brave band left. 

Santa Anna was jubilant over his victory, and 
turned to follow General Houston, who allowed 

19 



290 



Expansion 






i.;...A 



Santa Anna to j^ursue Mm until it was impossible 
for the Mexican general to receive either help or 
new supplies. At San Jacinto, while Santa Anna 
slept, General Houston slipped around him, and 
cut off his retreat. 

The place was hemmed in by marshes, and when 
the Texan army had crossed the bridge over the 

bayou, they cut it 
down, thus destroy- 
ing the only chance 
of escape. "Remem- 
ber the Alamo ! " 
shouted the brave 
Texans as they 
dashed upon the 
army of Mexico. 
The surprise was 
c o m |) 1 e t e , and as 
there was no wav of 







ANNEXATION OF TEXAS 



escape, the entire 
Mexican army was 
either slain or captured. Santa Anna was taken 
caj)tive the next day. Fearful lest he should meet 
the same fate that he had meted out to the brave 
men in the Alamo, he was willing to recognize the 
independence of Texas, and to take all of the Mex- 
ican troops out of Texas territory. 

For ten years Texas held her place as an inde- 
pendent republic with one star in her flag. Gen- 



Remember the Alamo 291 

eral Samuel Houston was the first president of the 
republic of Texas. This republic at length sought 
admission as one of the states of the United States. 
On the fourth day of July, 1845, a proposition of 
union was accepted by Texas, and, when, in Decem- 
ber of the same year, it was confirmed by Congress, 
the "Lone Star" republic became one of the sister- 
hood of states. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of the Alamo. 

How did Texas become one of the states of the United 
States? 

What other important events have occurred on the fourth 
day of July? 

Difficult words — fortress, bayou, jubilant. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Stories of the Northwest. — (Century.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Texas is the largest state in the United States. 



WAR WITH MEXICO 
Our Soutlicni Boundary Became Well Defined 

As soon as Texas became a part of the ITiiited 
States, General Zacliary Taylor was sent with an 
army to tJie Rio Grande to defend the boundary 
against Mexican invaders. Soon after, Mexican 
troops were sent to the Rio Grande, and took up 
their position on the opposite bank of the river. 
The Mexican general sent an order to General Tay- 
lor to withdraw from that territory within twenty- 
four hours. This, General Taylor refused to do. 
It is not eas}^ for two opposing armies to encamp 
near each other without a show of hostilities. The 
jBrst conflict came when a company of Taylor's 
army was attacked by a body of Mexican troops 
that had crossed the Rio Grande into the dis]:)uted 
territory. This w^as the beginning of the war : six- 
teen of the American soldiers were either killed or 
wounded, and the remainder were compelled to sur- 
render. 

General Taylor withdrew to Point Isabel to 
strengthen his position. The Mexicans were exul- 
tant, because they thought that the Americans were 
hurrying to get out of the territory that they 
claimed. They little understood the spirit of the 
men who marched under the Stars and Stripes. 

292 



War With Muxico 



293 



When James K. Polk, who was then president of 
the United States, heard what had been done, he 
issued a niessag'e in which he said: ''War exists, 
and notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, ex- 
ists by the act of Mexico herself." It has always 
been characteristic of the American people never 
to do anything in a half-hearted way, and if our 
boundary m u s t be de- 
fended, it must be done 
in the spirit of true 
Americanism. As was 
the case in the war of the 
revolution, so in this war, 
some one was needed as 
commander-in-chief. This 
responsible position was 
given to General AVinfield 
Scott. The American 
forces were separated in- 
to three divisions, and to 
each division was as- 
signed a definite work. 

To General Stephen W. Kearney was given the 
command of the army of the west. He was in- 
structed to cross the Rocky Mountains, and to take 
possession of all of the Mexican territory in the 
north and west. The division under General Scott 
was to go into the very heart of Mexico and subdue 
it. The third division of the army was given to 




WINFIELD SCOTT 



294 Expansion 

General Taylor, who was to conquer and hold the 
territory on the Rio Grande. How well each army 
did its work is shown by the well-established 
boundary line between the United States and 
Mexico. 

General Kearney set out from Fort Leaven- 
worth, which is still a military fort in Kansas He 
had under his command one thousand troops. He 
went toward the southwest until he reached the 
Arkansas river. At this point he turned and fol- 
lowed the general course of the river toward its 
source for several hundred miles, and then crossed 
the divide reaching Santa Fe after a march of nine 
hundred miles. This city was the outpost of ]Mex- 
ico, and on his approach it surrendered to him. He 
arranged for the government of this place, and 
then hastened to the southwest. 

After crossing the mountains, he was joined by 
Kit Carson, the famous scout. Carson explained 
to General Kearney the condition of affairs in the 
west and north, telling him how John Charles Fre- 
mont had been making explorations throughout the 
Rocky Mountain region, and had planted the flag 
of our country on the highest peak of that mighty 
range. He told him also how Fremont had passed 
through the region of the Great Salt Lake, and 
then on to Oregon. There Fremont turned south- 
ward, and went into California. 



War With Mexico 295 

While Fremont was in California, lie learned of 
the war with Mexico. He realized how feeble was 
the attachment of the people of this section of the 
country to Mexico. He had no way of getting into 
communication with the president of the United 
States, or with General Scott, who was command- 
er-in-chief; so he did what he believed was the 
most loyal thing to do. You will remember that 
now, as in the Revolution, every citizen of the 
United States was doing what he could for the wel- 
fare of his country. Fremont's opportunity was 
exceptional, and he improved it well. He had gath- 
ered around him the frontiersmen of the Sacra- 
mento valley, and with their assistance he had over- 
thrown the authority of Mexico in the upper and 
central parts of California. 

Carson also told General Kearney how Com- 
modore Stockton had captured San Diego, and had 
taken command of the Pacific squadron. General 
Kearney then decided to send the greater part of 
his army back to rejoin General Taylor, while he 
started on with a small band for San Diego. 

General Taylor had confined his work to the 
neighborhood of the disputed boundary. He had 
been successful wherever he had gone, and had put 
the Mexican army to rout wherever he had met it. 
The severest test came at Buena Vista. The greater 
part of his army had been sent to aid General 
Scott. When news of this reached Santa Anna, he 



296 Expansion 

marched with twenty thousand picked troops of 
Mexico to attack the American forces. General 
Taylor had placed his army of five thousand on a 
high plane, which was protected by deep ravines. 
This was in 1847 on the anniversary of Washing- 
ton's birthday. On that day, a Mexican officer 
came with a message from Santa Anna, and found 
General Taylor sitting on his white horse witli his 
leg thrown over the pommel of his saddle. The 
officer inquired of him, "What are you waiting 
for?" He replied, "For Santa Anna to surren- 
der. ' ' After the Mexican officer returned this word 
to Santa Anna, an attack was immediately made 
upon the American troops. Meanwhile General 
Taylor remained carefully observing with his spy- 
glass the movements of the enemy. Later word 
was sent from the Mexican headquarters to one of 
the American officers, saying, that if General Tay- 
lor should surrender he would be protected. To 
this came the quick and ready answer, "General 
Taylor never surrenders. ' ' For two days the battle 
raged, and, after a crushing defeat, the Mexican 
forces withdrew under the cover of night. 

The campaign under General Scott was eciually 
brilliant. He invaded Mexico at Vera Cruz, and 
after defeating the Mexican army at Cerro Gordo, 
he marched to the Mexican capital, and on Septem- 
ber 14, 1847, he triumphantly entered Mexico City. 
On that day the "Stars and Stripes" floated over 



War With Mexico 



297 



the Grand Plaza, and the troops of the United 
States walked the streets of a foreign capital. 
Hundreds of Mexicans gazed anxiousl}^ at the sol- 
diers who had toiled two hundred miles up the 
rocky road, and had forced their way into the city. 




SCOTT IX THJO CITY OF MEXICO 



( Jcneral Scott was careful to protect the lives and 
the property of those who remained in the capital. 
Santa Anna had fled from the seat of government, 
as he could no longer oppose our arm}^ A treaty 
was arranged hetween the two nations, which pro- 
vided that the Rio Grande, from its mouth up to 
the southern limit of New Mexico, should mark the 



398 Expansion 

boundary line between the United States and Mex- 
ico. The United States was also to secure nearly all 
the territory that is now included in the states of 
New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, and 
Utah. Mexico was to have returned to her all the 
towns in Mexico which our army had captured, and 
our government agreed to give her the sum of fifteen 
million dollars. In 1848, on the fourth day of July, 
that memorable date in our history. President Polk 
issued the proclamation of peace. There was still 
a little uncertainty about the boundary of the land 
lying near the Gila river. Six years later General 
Gadsden was sent to determine the exact boundary. 
We then gave Mexico ten million dollars for a small 
tract south of the Gila river. This seemed a large 
sum to pay for so little territory, but it was wise to 
satisfy Mexico fulh% and to fix permanently the 
boundary line between the two republics. 

Sixty-four years after that proclamation of 
peace, Arizona and New Mexico, the last two states 
carved out of the acquired territory, were admitted 
to the sisterhood of states. All other parts of the 
territory had been admitted previous to this time. 
There are now forty-eight states in the Union, and 
the United States flag bears one star for each state. 
On July 4, 1912, the United States flag was for the 
first time floated with forty-eight stars. 



War With Mexico 
SUGGESTIONS 



299 



Locate on a map the Rio Grande and Neuces rivers ; also 
Fort Leavenworth, Santa Fe, San Diego, Buena Vista, Mexico 
City. 

Difficult words — exultant, characteristic, attachment, squad- 
ron, surrender, hostilities. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Century Book of Famous Americans. — (Brooks.) 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
There are now forty-eight states in the United States. 




THE NEWLY ACQUIRED TERRITORY 



WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
"Neiv Birth of Our Nczv Soil; the first American." 

— LOWBXL. 

Nature fitted Abraham Lincoln to take his x)lace 
as a leader among men. He was tall, and his sturdy 
frame was suggestive of the strength of the forest 

in which he lived. He was 
born in Kentucky in 1809, 
a few years after the pur- 
chase of the great north- 
west territory. The call to 
the west kept luring his 
father still farther into 
the wilderness. When 
Lincoln was a little boy 
nine years old, his mother 
died. He felt keenly her 
loss, and mourned because there was no one to 
preach her funeral sermon. He wrote about her to 
a minister who used to travel through their coun- 
try as he made the round of his appointments. 
Several months later this minister came, and si3oke 
words of comfort. 

After some time his father again married, and 
the new mother became fond of ' ' Abe ' ', as she used 

300 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



Abraham Lincoln 301 

to call him. She encouraged him to make the most 
of himself. He loved to read, and she made it a 
rule never to disturh him while he was reading. 
Writing paper was scarcely to be had in that back- 
woods eountr}^, so Abe used to write on shingles 
with charcoal the things that he wanted to remem- 
ber. In his shingle scrap album he had his choice 
IDoems, funny stories, and historical facts. On one 
of these shingles may still be read these lines, writ- 
ten in a boyish scrawl : 

"Abraham Lincoln, 
his hand and pen ; 
he will be good, but 
God knows when." 

AVhat his ''hand and pen" was to do, no one at the 
time even dreamed, but the years to come were to 
unfold the secret. 

One day Abraham learned that a man for whom 
he sometimes worked, owned a copy of Wcem's 
"Life of Washington", a book then famous. He 
borrowed it, and one night, after he had finished 
reading, he tucked it in a crack between the logs. 
During the night he was awakened by the patter 
of rain, and found the much-prized book badly 
damaged. The owner offered to let him keep the 
book if he would pull enough fodder to feed his 
cattle for three days. This, Lincoln gladly did, 
and thus was purchased the first volume of his 
librarv. 



303 War Between the States 

His first glimpse of life, other than that of the 
backwoods people, came when he was nineteen 
years old. At that time he made a trip to New Or- 
leans on a flatboat. When he was almost twenty- 
one 5^ears of age, his father again moved westward. 
This time he settled in Illinois. Young Lincoln 
helped his father to split the rails used to fence a 
part of the farm. By this time the young man had 
become of age, and he felt that he must do some- 
thing for himself. 

Lincoln keenly felt the need of a better educa- 
tion. He had improved every opportunity, but his 
actual school-days had been few, and his teachers 
had been trained chiefly in the use of the rod. 
His perseverance, honesty, and desire for greater 
knowledge acted as a sjjur to urge him on to higher 
attainments. 

At one time while Lincoln was clerking in a small 
store, he felt the need of studying the English lan- 
guage. The village school-master told him of a 
man six miles away who owned an English gram- 
mar. Lincoln hurried away to borrow the book, 
and returned before the teacher thought it possible. 
He studied this book so thoroughly that he mas- 
tered the principles of the language. 

He afterwards found a set of law books. Black- 
stone's ''Commentaries," in the bottom of a barrel 
which he had purchased. He read these books, and 
thought about them a great deal. He helped his 



Abraham Lincoln 



303 



neighbors by drawing notes, deeds, contracts, and 
other legal papers. This was the beginning of his 
legal career. His success as a lawyer was due to 
his industry, faithfulness, and honesty. He became 
known as "Honest Abe," because he would not 
plead a cause that he believed to be in the wrong. 




li"IIIIIIMi lllllli 




LINCOLN'S HOME AT SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 



His study and practice of law opened a new lite 
of activity for him. He had become acquainted 
with many people in his state. They had learned 
to know and to understand his broad and sympa- 
thetic nature. He once went out of his way to put 
some young birds back in their nest. At another 
time when going to try a case, he stopped to help a 



304 War Between the States 

pig out of the mire. At first he passed it, thinking 
that he cared neither to spare the time nor to soil 
his clothes, but the distress of the animal haunted 
him, and he turned back, and lifted the unfortunate 
pig to a secure footing. 

These noble qualities of character were recog- 
nized by the people of his state, and he was twice 
called upon to serve In the Illinois legislature. In 
1812 he married Mary Todd, and the}^ lived at 
Springfield until he was selected by the people in 
1860 to become the sixteenth president of the 
United States. 

SUGGESTIONS 

What trait of Lincoln's character as a boy do you like best? 
Write or tell briefly why you select this particular trait of 
character. 

Difficult words — luring, opportunity, sympathetic, haunted. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
The Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln. — {Nicolay.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
He was the sixteenth president of the United States. 



CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA 
Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy 

The thirteen original states had at that time in- 
creased to thirty-three. There was no longer any 
fear of English authority, and the industries and 
interests of the states had become widely different 
in different sections. The meaning of the Con- 
stitution of the United States was differently un- 
derstood by the people of the several states. Some 
of the people believed that, when once a state be- 
came one of the United States, it could not 
withdraw without the consent of the other states. 
Others believed that any state could withdraw from 
the Union when the peoxjle of that state so desired. 
A few months after the election of Lincoln as pres- 
ident of the United States, seven of the states in 
the South did declare that they were no longer a 
part of the United States, and formed a new gov- 
ernment, which they called the ''Confederate 
States of America." 

Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected pres- 
ident. He was well fitted for the duties of his 
office, and was a typical son of the South. He was 
born in Kentucky, but, while he was still a small 
boy, his father moved to Mississippi. He was a 
graduate of West Point, and served with dis- 

20 305 



306 



War Between the States 



tinction in the Mexican war. On Ms return from 
the war with Mexico, he was made United States 
senator from Mississippi, and was thus represent- 
ing his state when he, together with the senators of 
the other states that were leaving the Union, de- 




HOME OF JEFFKliSuN DAVIS, BII.OXI, MISSISSIPPI 



clined to remain a member of the Congress of the 
United States. In his final address in Congress 
he said : ' ' This is done not in hostility to others, not 
to injure any section of the country, not even for 
our own pecuniary benefit, but from the high and 
solemn motive of defending and protecting the 
rights we inlierited, and which it is our sacred duty 



Confederate; States oe America 307 

to transmit unsliorn to our children." He left 
Washington and was soon elected president of the 
states that had withdrawn from the Union. 

A little later four other states joined this con- 
federacy, making in all eleven states. It was a 
time of unrest and uncertainty. Vessels were go- 
ing back and forth between northern and southern 
ports flying the flag of the Union at one end and 
the Confederate flag at the other. There were 
many things which led to the withdrawal of these 
sister states; but perhaps the most important was 
the different systems of labor in the North and in 
the South. In the early years of our history slaves 
were owned in all of the states, but as time passed 
they were not kept in any great numbers except in 
the southern states, where cotton was the principal 
crop grown. Thus the great question of slavery 
came to be an issue between the North and the 
South. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell or write your story of the life of Jefferson Davis. 
Difficult words — Confederate, typical, distinction, hostility, 
pecuniary, transmit, unshorn. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Eleven states composed the Confederate States of America. 



THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 

Lincoln Wrote the Binancipafion Froclaination 

President liincoln believed that there should be 
some way found to settle the difficulties between 
the states without taking up arms. In his inau- 
gural address he said: ''Let us at all times re- 
member that all American citizens are brothers of 
a common country, and shoidd dwell together in 
the bonds of fraternal feeling." A little over a 
month after Lincoln had promised to preserve, pro- 
tect, and defend the government, the first gun of 
the great conflict between the states was fired. 

When supplies and men were being sent to Fort 
Smnter, a military fort of the United States, in 
the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, Presi- 
dent Davis considered this action an act of war. 
Before they arrived, the fort was fired upon by the 
newly organized confederacy, and after a bombard- 
ment of thirty-four hours Major Robert Anderson, 
who was in command of Fort Sumter, was forced to 
surrender. This was the beginning of that dread- 
ful struggle which lasted for four years. 

It would be a long story to tell how the brave 
men of the South and of the North fought and 
contended for the principles which each believed 
both just and right. "With malice toward none 

308 



Emancipation Proclamation 



509 



and with charit.y for all," President Lincoln had 
followed the path of dnty as he saw it. On New 
Year's eve while the old year, 1862, was passing 
into history, President Lincoln bade the members 
of his cabinet good-night. He went to his own quiet 
room, and finished writing the Emancipation Proc- 




READIXG TJIIl; iOMAXOirATlUX I'l^i MJl.AM ATION 



lamation. The next day was spent in greeting all 
who came to the White House. Late in the after- 
noon Lincoln again retired to the quiet executive 
room. He took from the drawer the manuscript 
of the Proclamation and placed it upon the table 
before him. Taking a short steel pen from the 
rack, he turned to his secretary of state, and said, 



310 War Between the States 

* * If I am to be remembered in histor}^ at all, it will 
probably be in connection with this piece of 
paper." Then without a quiver of muscle in hand 
or arm, he signed his name. It may be that what 
he said and many things that he did will be for- 
gotten; but this Proclamation, which was the be- 
ginning of the end of slavery in the United States, 
will not be forgotten. Emerson said of him, "He 
was a man who grew according to his need; his 
mind mastered the problem of the day, and as the 
problem grew, so did his apprehension of it. By 
his courage, his justice, his even temper, his fertile 
counsel, his humanity, he stood a heroic figure in 
the center of a heroic epoch." 

Never in the history of our country had so many 
thrilling events taken place in so short a time as 
occurred during the first fifteen days of the month 
of April in 1865. On Palm Sunday, Aj^ril 9th, 
the two greatest generals of modern times, Pobert 
E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of 
Northern Virginia, and Ulysses S. Grant, com- 
mander of the Federal Army, met each other in the 
parlor of William McLean, at Appomattox Court 
House in Virginia, and arranged for the cessation 
of hostilities. This was virtually the end of the 
war. The roar of the shot and shell had scarcely 
died away, when a shot from the hand of an 
assassin brought grief to the nation. On the eve- 
ning of April fourteenth, while President Lincoln 



Emancipation Proclamation 311 

was sitting beside Mrs. Lincoln in a box at Ford's 
theater, the deadly aim was taken by the assassin, 
and the heart of Abraham Lincoln was forever 
stilled. He was laid to rest in the old Oak Eidge 
cemetery at Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of 
people came, by night and by day, to look upon the 
face of our martyred president. Representatives 
of the army, the navy, and all departments of the 
government, together with men and women from 
all walks of life, mingled their tears at his grave. 
''Chieftain, farewell! The nation mourns thee. 
Mothers shall teach thy name to their lisping chil- 
dren. The youth of our land shall emulate thy vir- 
tues. Statesmen shall study thy record, and learn 
lessons of wisdom." 



SUGGESTIONS 

Write your own story of Abraham Lincoln. 
Difficult words — fraternal, bombard, apprehension, martyred, 
emulate. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Abraham Lincoln. — (Brooks.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Abraham Lincoln believed that we should live "with malice 
toward none and with charity for all." 



ROBERT E. LEE 
He Led the "Boys in Gray" 

In these days we scarcely know the meaning of 
the terms, ^'Boys in Blue," and ''Bo3^s in Gra}^" 

They are poetic expres- 
sions suggestive of heroic 
deeds. "Boys in Blue" 
refers to the men who be- 
longed to the Union or 
Federal army of the 
United States, while 
"Boys in Gray" refers to 
the men who belonged to 
the army of the Southern 
Confederacy. The sol- 
diers of the Union army 
were dressed in blue, and 
the rank of officers was 
indicated by epaulets on 
the shoulders. The soldiers of the Confederate 
army were dressed in gray, and the rank of officers 
was shown by either stars or bars on the collar of 
the coat. 

Robert E. Lee was one of the generals who led 
the ' ' Boys in Gray. ' ' He was born in Virginia, the 
state which has been called the mother of presi- 

312 




ROBERT E. LEE 



Robert E. Leu 313 

dents, and was reared in the same atmosphere in 
which Washington lived. His father was General 
Henry Lee, whose brave and daring deeds in the 
Revolutionary war won for him the title of "Light 
Horse Harry." His father died when he was 
eleven years old. At his father's death, he became 
the comfort and support of an invalid mother. He 
was always devoted to her, and would leave his 
playfellows to go and take her driving in the old 
family carriage. 

At eighteen years of age he received an appoint- 
ment to West Point, and four years later he gradu- 
ated, receiving next to the highest honors of his 
class. For many years he served in the engineer 
corps of the regular army. He married Mary 
Randolph Curtis, the daughter of Washington's 
adopted son. They made their home at Arlington 
on the Potomac. This had been the childhood 
home of Mrs. Lee, and on the death of her father 
it was inherited by her. The grounds are now used 
as a national cemetery, where rest many brave sol- 
diers of the war between the states. 

Lee 's military training led him into the war with 
Mexico, where he showed himself a brave soldier. 
His letters written while in Mexico show his affec- 
tion for his family, his love of home, and his at- 
tachment for family pets. 

A few years after his return from Mexico he was 
appointed superintendent of the West Point Acad- 



314 War Be;twe;e;n the; States 

emy. His son attended the academy while he was 
in charge. 

Events leading toward war were occurring in 
rapid succession, and Lee realized that he must 
make a choice between the two flags. His experi- 
ence in the Mexican war, combined with his ability 
and military training, fitted him for leadership. 
President Lincoln recognized his peculiar fitness 
for generalship, and offered him the command of 
the armies of the United States. He could not ac- 
cept the offer ; for, he said, ' ' With all my devotion 
to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty 
of an American citizen, I have not been able to 
make up my mind to raise my hand against my 
relatives, my children, my home." He resigned 
his commission in the United States army, and 
hoped to remain a private citizen, and to use his 
influence to prevent the war which was threaten- 
ing. He could not long remain neutral ; at last he 
took command of the Army of Virginia, as the Con- 
federate forces were called which at that time were 
defending Richmond. From that time until the 
close of the war, he was one of the leading generals 
of the Confederate army. 

After General Lee had signed the articles of sur- 
render to General Grant, he mounted his gray 
horse, ''Traveler," and returned to his home and 
family. He was offered many positions of influ- 
ence and trust, and after weighing them all care- 



Robert E. Lee 



315 



fully, he decided to accept the presidency of Wash- 
ington College at Lexington, Virginia. The name 
was afterward changed to Washington and Lee 
University. He preferred this work because, he 
said, ''I have led the young men of the South to 
battle ; I have seen many of them die on the field. 
I shall devote my remaining energy to training 
young men to do their duty in life." 




LEE ON HIS HORSE "TRAVELER" 



316 War Bh;twee;n the States 

SUGGESTIONS 

Write the story of Robert E. Lee, using the following 
topics : 

1. Early life. 

2. Military leadership. 

3. Traits of character. 

SOMETHING TO READ 
Heroes Every Child Should Know. — (Mabie.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Lee believed that the greatest thing that he could do was 
to train young men to do their duty in life. 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 
He Led the "Boys in Blue" 

The military hero, Ulysses S. Grant, came from 
tliat sturdy class of people which is the main-stay 
of our country. He was born at Point Pleasant, 
Ohio, in 1822. He lived at a time when his military 
training fitted him for ser- 
vice in two wars. When 
he was seventeen years old, 
his father secured for him 
an appointment as cadet 
in the Military Academy 
at West Point. A military 
life had no char m s for 
him, and he undertook the 
work, not because he en- 
joyed it, but because he 
wanted to please his 
father. He himself tells 
us that he never succeeded in getting squarely at 
either end of his class. He liked best the study of 
mathematics. His early experience with horses 
while working on the farm served him well in his 
military training, and he soon became one of the 
expert horsemen among his fellow students. Gen- 
eral Scott one day visited at West Point, and his 

317 




ULYSSES S. GRANT 



318 War Between the States 

commanding appearance so impressed young 
Grant that he felt that some day he would occupy 
a similar position, although at that time he had no 
thought of leading a military life. He was after- 
wards a lieutenant under General Scott in his 
march from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, and 
did effective service as a faithful soldier. When 
the war was over, he obtained a leave of absence, 
and returned to St. Louis, and married Miss Julia 

Dent, whose brother 
had been a classmate 
at West Point. For 
two years they lived at 
Detroit, but at length 
his infantry was or- 
dered to the Pacific 
coast. It was thought 

GRANT'S BIRTHPLACE i i x i - i i "i • 

best that he leave his 
wife and child at his father's home in Ohio. He 
left New York harbor on the old steamer Ohio, and 
sailed for Aspinwall. The journey across the 
isthmus of Panama at that time was both difficult 
and dangerous. It was about two months from 
the time he left New York harbor until he reached 
San Francisco. After three years of service he re- 
signed and returned to his home in July, 1854. 

From that time to the beginning of the war be- 
tween the states, he was engaged in various occu- 
pations; but his education and training had fitted 




UI.YSSES S. Grant 319 ^ 

him for a military career, and when the call came 
for volunteers, he offered his services to his coun- 
try. He was first appointed colonel of the Twenty- 
first regiment of Illinois volunteers. He had found 
the work for which he was fitted. As the war 
progressed. Grant was j^romoted to a generalship, 
and was later recognized as one of the greatest gen- 
erals that the Union army had produced. Presi- 
dent Lincoln had been watching Grant's career, 
and one day he sent for him to come to WasJiing- 
ton, and after a brief interview, he made him chief 
commander of the Union forces. This was a great 
responsibility to be given to one man; but Grant 
had already won the reputation of doing thor- 
oughly whatever he set out to do. His soldiers 
used to sing, 

"Ulysses leads the van ! 
Ulysses leads the van! 
For we will dare 
To follow where 
Ulysses leads the van." 

There came a day when General Grant no longer 
asked his soldiers to follow him in battle. At the 
surrender of General Lee's army, he showed the 
true nobility of his character. He permitted no 
salutes of joy to be fired, nor did he allow any sign 
of exultation to be shown by his soldiers. So mod- 
est and unassuming did he appear that the onlooker 



320 War Between the States 

saw nothing to indicate that Grant was the victor. 
His simple words, "Let us have ]3eace," were 
voiced by people in all sections of the country. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Compare the boyhood of General Grant with tliat of Gen- 
eral Lee. 

In what two wars did Grant serve? 

Find out what vou can about West Point. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
Century Book of Famous Americans. — (Brooks.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 
Ulysses S. Grant has been called the "Silent Leader. 



NATIONAL PROSPERITY 



THE ATLANTIC CABLE 
// Binds TogetJier the Old World and the New 

From the discovery of America to the year 1866, 
no better method of communication with the Old 
World had been found than that of sending mes- 
sages on vessels or steam- 
ers. The slow going sail- 
vessel had been replaced 
by the m ore up-to-date 
steamer, but even this was 
slow, compared with the 
lightning rapidity of the 
telegraphic current. The 
principal cities of the 
United States had for 
some time been connected 
by the Morse telegraph; 
and as early as 1847, it 
was introduced into Ger- 
many, and soon its use sj)read over the entire con- 
tinent of Europe. London and New York were 
still without speedy communication. A Russian- 
American telegraph company, therefore, proposed 
to build a telegraph line to connect the two hem- 
ispheres. The line was to start at some point in 




CYRUS W. FIELD 



21 



321 



332 NationaIv ProspivRity 

Russia, and was to extend to Bering Strait across 
the wilds of Siberia, where no raih^oad at that time 
had been built. That messages could be trans- 
mitted under water, had already been proved. Pro- 
fessor Morse had stretched a wire under the water 
from Castle Garden, New York city, to Governor's 
Island, and ten years later a submarine telegraph 
had been built connecting England with the con- 
tinent of Europe. 

At that time Alaska was called Russian- Amer- 
ica, and was owned by Russia. It was believed 
that a short cable might thus be laid from Siberia 
to Russian-America. The difficulties to be over- 
come in reaching the mainland from the remote 
Aleutian islands, and in the undertaking of cross- 
ing the Rocky Mountains, where at that time no 
railroads had been built, were all overlooked in the 
ffreat desire to connect the commercial centers of 
the two hemispheres. All these plans were finally 
given up. 

Meanwhile an English-American company be- 
lieved that a cable could be laid across the Atlantic 
Ocean. Cyrus W. Field aided them in this under- 
taking. He had formerly built up a prosperous 
paper-manufacturing business in New York, but 
had retired. He was solicited for funds to help 
complete the laying of a cable from Newfoundland 
to the mainland, and became interested in the un- 
dertaking, and soon came to the conclusion that 



Thk Atlantic Cable 323 

Newfoundland was the best starting point for a 
cable to Ireland. In London lie organized the At- 
lantic Telegraph Company, and show^ed his faith 
in the undertaking by subscribing for one-fourth 
of the stock. He received aid from both the gov- 
ernments of Great Britain and the United States. 
The first attempt to lay the cable was made in 
1857. The Niagara and the Agamemnon sailed 
from Valentia bay, Ireland, each carrying one 
thousand two hundred fifty miles of cable. All 
went well for several days, but soon came the cry, 
' ' Stop her ! the cable has parted ! ' ' The vessels re- 
turned to Ireland, where an attempt was made to 
splice the cable, but to no effect. The next year 
another effort was made to lay the cable. This 
time the same vessels were used, but they sailed to 
mid-ocean, there spliced the ends of the cable, and 
then sailed away from each other, the Agamemnon 
going to Ireland, and the Niagara, to Newfound- 
land. On August seventeenth, the laying of both 
ends of the cable was completed, and Valentia, a 
town of Ireland; was in communication wdth 
Heart's Content, a fishing hamlet of Newfound- 
land. "Europe and America are united by tele- 
graph. Glory to God in the highest; on earth 
peace; good will toward men," was flashed under 
the ocean. Other messages followed. The queen 
of England sent the following salutation to the 
president of the United States: "The Queen con- 



334 National Prosperity 

gratulates tlie President on an undertaking which 
she hopes irrj serve as an additional bond of nnion 
between the United States and England." To this 
message the president responded by saying: ''The 
President of the United States acknowledges with 
profound gratification the receipt of Her Majesty's 
dispatch, and cordially reciprocates the hope that 
the cable which now unites the eastern and west- 
ern hemispheres may serve to strengthen and to 
perpetuate peace and amity between the Govern- 
ment of England and the Republic of the United 
States." The American people were enthusiastic, 
and many declared that the Atlantic cable was the 
greatest achievement of the age. Their rejoicing 
was short-lived, however, for in eighteen days the 
cable ceased to work. 

Field had used up his fortune, and funds were 
not easily available, for our own country by this 
time was engaged in the great war between the 
states. A few years elapsed ; but all the while Field 
was thinking and planning for another trial. At 
last a new cable was prepared. Every precaution 
was taken to make it strong. 

The largest vessel in the world, the Great East- 
ern, was engaged to carry and lay the cable. On 
July 23, 1865, the steamer started from Ireland. 
Everything went well until it was more than a 
thousand miles from the starting place, when the 



The Atlantic Cable; 



325 



cable parted. Nine days were spent in grappling 
for it, but to no purpose. 

The next year the Great Eastern again left Ire- 
land with a new cable on board. In fourteen days 
it arrived at Heart's Content. July 27, 1866, was 
a happy day for Cyrus W. Field. He wrote to his 
friends in New York: *' Heart's Content, July 27. 
We arrived here at nine o'clock this morning. All 




THE GREAT EASTERN AT HEART'S CONTENT 

well. Thank God, the cable is laid and is in per- 
fect working order. Cyrus W. Field. ' ' 

The first European message that flashed across 
the waters was the announcement that a treaty of 
peace between Austria and Prussia had just been 
signed. This was a fitting climax for one of the 
world's greatest achievements. From that day to 
this, there has been constant telegraphic communi- 
cation between the Old World and the New. 



• 



326 National Prosperity 

SUGGESTIONS 

Tell the story of the advantages of the Atlantic cable. 

Where is Heart's Content? 

Where is Valentia bay? 

Difficult words — congratulate, reciprocate, perpetuate, amity, 
achievement, available, precaution, climax, gratification, pro- 
found. 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The Atlantic cable put the United States in speedy com- 
munication with other countries of the world. 



THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA 
Russia Sold a Valuable Possession 

Two years after tlie close of tlie war between the 
states, the United States again added to her terri- 
tory. This time it was land lying at the extreme 




MOUNT McKINLEY 



northwestern part of North America. Previous to 
this time we had sent men to find out the possibility 
of connecting the United States with Asia by means 
of telegraphic communication. These men ob- 
served that Alaska, or Russian- America, as it was 



327 



328 



National Prosperity 



then called, had great possibilities. The pine and 
cedar forests were among the finest in the world, 
and the fisheries, including the seal islands, were 
valuable. 

After receiving their reports, we began to make 
arrangements to purchase this new territory. On 



"T"^^T^ 




MAP OF ALASKA 

March 30, 1867, we completed a treaty by which we 
paid Russia seven million two hundred thousand 
dollars for this territory. It contains almost five 
hundred eighty thousand square miles, or an area 
larger than the thirteen original states. It is about 
one-fifth the size of the United States. 

This vast territory is rich in coal, forests, pre- 
cious metals, fish, and furs. Its agricultural possi- 



The Purchase of Alaska 329 

bilities are also important. Alaska has paid for 
itself mauy times, and only a beginning has been 
made in its development. Its annual output of 
gold is worth more than the price that we paid 
for it. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why is Alaska valuable to lis? 
What country owned Alaska? 
Tell why you would or would not like to live in Alaska. 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

We gave Russia seven million two hundred thousand dollars 
for Alaska. 



TROUBLE WITH SPAIN 
We Gave Cuba the Protection of Our Government 

The mention of the word Spain takes us back to 
the earliest history of our country. We can well 
remember with what cruelty and selfishness she 
planted her first colonies in this country. This 
same cruel and selfish spirit had been shown 
throughout all of her associations with her colo- 
nists in the New Woidd. As time passed she con- 
tinued to lose territory ; in 1819 we purchased from 
her all that remained of her claim to the region 
now occupied by the United States, but she re- 
tained her authority in the West Indies. Her rule 
there was so oppressive that for many years the 
island of Cuba threatened open rebellion. In 1895 
a part of the people of Cuba succeeded in estab- 
lishing a native government. Spain, fearful lest 
it might some day ask for independence, sent over 
a governor-general who was more cruel and oppres- 
sive than any who had ruled before him. He com- 
pelled the farmers to go into the towns to live, and 
then he destroyed their crops and their buildings. 
The Cubans suffered much, but at last their oppres- 
sion passed the bounds of endurance and they re- 
belled. They had at their very door the example 
of the freedom of the United States, and it made 

330 



Trouble; With Spain 331 

them long for such a life. Many people in onr 
country said that Spain should be compelled to 
treat her subjects more humanely; but while Spain 
knew that our peoi)le felt that she was doing wrong, 
she paid no attention to our good wishes in behalf 
of the welfare of her own subjects. 



THE "MAINE" ENTERING HAVANA HARBOR 

At length the United States ordered the battle- 
ship Maine to make a visit to Havana harbor, be- 
cause American citizens and American interests 
were in danger. One night in February, 1898, this 
l)attleship was blown up, it is believed, by the au- 
thority of Spain, and over two hundred fifty lives 
were lost. Our government tried to settle peace- 
abty with Spain, but did not succeed. President 
McKinley sent a message to Congress in which he 
said, "In the name of humanity and civilization, 



332 National Prosperity 

the war against the Cubans must stop." But 
Spain gave no heed to this demand, and in April 
Congress formally declared war against Spain. 
We did not want to make Cuba a part of the United 
States, but we did demand that Spain make an end 
of her inhuman treatment of the Cubans. The 
navies of Spain and of the United States were 
about equal; but the men who manned our vessels 
were superior marksmen, and were Americans, 
which means the embodiment of the best manl}^ 
qualities. We were fighting, not for glory or for 
the extension of our territory, but for the cause of 
oppressed hmnanity. The first victory was won by 
Commodore Dewey. He had made full prepara- 
tion for the battle while in the harbor at Hong 
Kong, China. The order was sent him to go to 
Manila, in the Philippines. These were Spain's 
great island possessions in the East, and his in- 
structions were to capture or destroy the Spanish 
fleet in the Philippines. 

Commodore Dewey was a man well suited to meet 
this emergency. He had seven well equipped war 
ships and two supply boats. When the fleet left 
Hong Kong, the English sailors cheered and 
shouted that they were sure that the Americans 
would win. The flag-ship Olympia took the lead. 
The Spanish fleet lay in Manila bay close under 
the batteries of Cavite, which was sixteen miles 
from the entrance to the harbor. At the entrance 



Troubli; With Spain 



333 



to the bay were two islands on which were strong 
Spanish fortifications. Commodore Dewey well 
understood what it meant to meet defeat, for he 
was nearly eight thousand miles away from a home 
port. There was no place where he could replenish 
his supplies. He must win or meet utter defeat. 
Knowing this and understanding perfectly what it 
all meant, Dewey di- 
rected his fleet to enter 
the harbor. Silently one 
dark night, with no 
sound save the throbbing 
of the engines, the 
Olympia led the way in- 
to the harbor. The ves- 
sels were well advanced 
into the channel before 
they were discovered. 
The last vessel in the 
line sent up a few sparks 
from the coal it was burning, thus revealing the 
presence of our shii3S. Three shots were imme- 
diately fired from the battery on the island. 

The American sailors had slept on the decks be- 
side their guns while the ships were going toward 
JManila, which is twenty-six miles from the en- 
trance. Dewey had expected to find the Spanish 
fleet in front of Manila ; but in this he was disap- 
pointed; for it was not there. He left one vessel 




GEORGE DEWEY 



334 NationaIv Prosperity 

and the supply boats in the middle of the harbor 
while, with the other vessels, he went in search of 
the Spanish fleet. It was early morning, May first, 
wlien he located the Spanish vessels under the forts 
at Cavite. As Dewey stood on the bridge of the 
Olympia, he quietly said to Captain Gridley, "You 
may begin, Gridley, whenever you wish." Every- 
thing was in readiness, and the firing began. The 
path of the American ships was in the form of a 
figure eight. They moved back and forth before 
the Spanish ships, pouring forth their shells with 
unerring aim. After the fifth trip in passing the 
enemy, Dewey signaled his fleet to retire to the 
middle of the bay. The Spaniards thought that the 
Americans had given up ; but they did not know the 
character of the man with whom they were dealing. 
He had simply retired in order that his men might 
have a little rest. He asked for a report of the loss 
of life among his men, and was informed that none 
were killed and that only six had been injured. 
The men cheered. After a short rest they returned 
and completed their work. The Petral, one of the 
smallest vessels in the United States navy, did such 
valiant service that the sailors called her 'Hhe baby 
battleship. ' ' 

Never had such a naval battle been known. Not 
one of the Spanish ships escaped. This victory had 
been won without the loss of a single man on the 
American vessels. The Baltimore was the only ves- 



Trouble With Spain 335 

sel which had received any injury. Six of her crew 
had been injured by a shell that entered the side of 
this vessel. 

When the battle was over, Dewey turned to his 
staff and said, ''I have the finest lot of men that 
ever stepped on shipboard, and their hearts are as 
stout as their ships. ' ' 

When the news of the victory reached the United 
States, there was rejoicing. In all our history 
there had never been anything quite like it, and no 
one could foresee that within a few weeks a similar 
victory was to be won off the coast of Cuba. On 
July 3, while Commodore W. S. Schley was in com- 
mand during the absence of Admiral Sampson, the 
Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera, made an ef- 
fort to escape from Santiago harbor. The Amer- 
ican fleet pursued the Spanish warships until the 
last one surrendered, forty-five miles west of the 
harbor. This last remaining vessel was named the 
Crisfohal Colon, after the great discoverer who had 
planted the flag of Spain upon the island of Cuba 
about four hundred years before. It was said of 
the American sailors on board those ships, '^So 
long as the enemy showed his flag they fought like 
American seamen, but when the flag came down 
they were as gentle and tender as American 
women. ' ' 

These two battles destroyed the Spanish navy. 
Santiago soon surrendered to General Shafter, and 



336 National Prosperity 

in less than thirty days Spain asked the United 
States for terms of peace. As a result of this con- 
flict, Porto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine islands 
were given to the United States; and Cuba, for 
whom the contest was waged, was granted inde- 
pendence under the protection of the United States. 
Four years later, in 1902, our country withdrew 
from the island when the Cubans had drawn up a 




CUBA GrVEISr THE PROTECTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

constitution that satisfied the conditions outlined 
by Congress. In 1906 we were compelled to occupy 
it a second time in order to prevent a civil war. 
When the Cuban republic was re-established in 
1909, we once more left the island. The spirit of 
self-government has been of slow growth among the 



Trouble With Spain 337 

people of this island, and the outcome yet remains 
to be determined. 

SUGGESTIONS 

Why did we declare war with Spain? 

Describe the scene in Manila bay. 

Difficult words — oppress, humane, inhuman, embody, staff. 



SOMETHING TO READ 
The Hero of Manila. — {Johnson.) 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The United States stopped the Spanish oppression of the 
Cubans. 

We gave Cuba the protection of our government. 



THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 

Our First Island Possession 

For many years it was thought to be unwise for 
our country to own any territory except land on 
the continent. It even required considerable time 
for the people of the United States to feel that the 
purchase of Alaska was a wise undertaking. Noth- 
ing more was done to extend our territory for more 
than thirty years after the purchase of Alaska in 
1867. 

The year 1898 marks the beginning of our island 
ownership. In this year we planted our flag on 
islands of ])oth the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. 
Up to this time we had owned no land lying within 
the tropics. Not until we purchased Alaska did 
we have any land within the frigid zone. Now 
boys and girls may have their homes in either of 
the great zones, and still live within the United 
States. 

The Hawaiian islands became a part of our 
country not by conquest or purchase, but because 
the people of these islands wanted to become a part 
of our United States. These islands were discov- 
ered by Captain Cook, an Englishman, in 1778. 
The natives believed that he was a god from 
heaven, and they treated him Avith the greatest 

338 



The Hawaiian Islands 339 

honor. They even gave him their priceless royal 
feather mantle made from the golden yellow feath- 
ers of a little bird. He named this group ''Sand- 
wich Islands," in honor of his old friend Lord 
Sandwich of England. The people of the islands 
never adopted the British name, but continued to 
use the name Hawaii. 

The natives of these islands learned to know 
about our country and other countries through 
missionaries who went to live among them. Grad- 
ually they did away with idol worship and learned 
the ways of civilized people. Many persons from 
the United States went to live on these islands; 
for their valleys are fertile and produce large 
quantities of sugar, cotfee, rice, oranges, and ba- 
nanas. The Hawaiians, appreciating what has 
been done for them, have adopted as their national 
motto the following: "The life of the country is 
in righteousness." 

By a joint resolution of Congress, July 7, 1898, 
these islands, with a territory a little less than that 
of New Jersey, were annexed to the United States. 
On August the twelfth, the same day on which hos- 
tilities ceased with Spain, formal possession by tlie 
United States was taken of these islands. 



340 National Prosperity 

SUGGESTIONS 

Locate on your maps the islands that belong to the United 
States. 

Why are the Hawaiian islands valuable to us? 

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

Land belonging to the United States can be found in the 
torrid, the temperate, or the frigid zone. 



THE PANAMA CANAL 
The Land Divided — TJ\e JVorld United 

The narrow neck of land connecting North and 
South America suggests a strange mingling of the 
fifteenth century with that of the twentieth. Its 
history goes back to the time when Columbus on his 
last voyage believed that he could find a strait that 
would allow him to sail to the long-sought India. 
Fifteen years later, the unhappy Balboa, who had 
come to the Gulf of Darien concealed in a cask, 
first crossed the isthmus of Panama. 

— "With eagle eyes 
He stared at the Pacific, — and all his men 
Looked at each other with a wild snrmise, — 
Silent, upon the peak in Darien." 

Six years after this the city of Panama was 
founded. This was not the same city that now 
stands on the Pacific side of our Panama canal. 
The old city was destroyed by Henry Morgan, the 
Welch buccaneer, in 1671. A church tower is al- 
most all that now remains of the old city. 

There are ancient legends among the natives of 
Central America that once there was a waterway 
across the isthmus, and that it was closed by vol- 
canic action. Many explorers sought the "Secret 

341 



342 National Prosperity 

of the Strait, ' ' but when it became known that there 
was no w^aterway from ocean to ocean, the Span- 
iards built a road over which goods were carried 
for hundreds of years on pack horses from the 
ships on one ocean to those on the other. During 
these years rulers of Sj^ain talked about making 



THE CULEBRA CUT, PANAMA CANAL 

a canal across the isthmus, but nothing was done 
by them to accomplish such an undertaking. 

Because of Spanish oppression, the people of 
Panama and of the countries on either side of it 
determined that they would no longer be under the 
control of Spain. Accordingly they rose in revolt 



The Panama Canal 343 

and established independent republics. It seemed 
more likely now that some wealthy nation could 
obtain permission to build a canal across the 
isthmus. 

When gold was discovered in California, our 
country became anxious to have a short route to 
the rich gold fields of the west. We did not then 
have a railroad across the continent. It was pro- 
posed to get permission from the people of Panama 
to build a railroad across the isthmus. Our plan 
was to sail down the Atlantic in our ships, cross 
the isthmus by rail, and then take the ships on the 
Pacific that would carry us to these rich gold 
fields. It was a difficult undertaking; but per- 
mission Avas secured from the repul)lic of Colom- 
bia, and after many hardships the road was com- 
pleted. Those who crossed the isthmus on the rail- 
road paid twenty-five dollars for a ride of only 
forty-eight miles. This road connected the city of 
Panama on the Pacific coast with Colon or Aspin- 
wall, as it used to be called, on the Atlantic. 

As time passed, people began to talk more and 
more about a canal. This interest was not con- 
fined to our country. Many people in Prance be- 
lieved that the canal could be built ; so they secured 
permission to undertake its construction. The 
French selected the famous engineer De Lesseps to 
take the work in charge. He had already shown 
his ability by constructing the Suez canal. A 



344 National Prosperity 

large amount of money was raised and about two- 
fifths of the work was completed, when through 
extravagance and mismanagement the people of 
France lost faith in the undertaking. When the 
money which had been raised by the French gov- 
ernment had all been used, no more could be raised 
to complete the work. 

Early in the year 1904, Panama withdrew from 
Colombia, and became an independent republic. 
Soon the United States made known her desire to 
purchase the strip of land through which the pro- 
posed canal was to pass. Accordingly, a treaty 
was made, and we gave to the new republic ten 
million dollars for the right of way for the canal, 
and for a perpetual lease of a strip ten miles wide 
and extending three miles into the sea at each end 
of the canal. This strip is called the Canal Zone. 
We were also to have use of all lands outside of 
the Canal Zone that were necessary for the con- 
struction of the canal. 

As soon as the official papers were signed, the 
people of this Canal Zone became as truly citizens 
of the United States as are the people who live in 
either of the forty-eight states, or on any of our 
islands of the sea. 

After expert engineers had made a careful ex- 
amination of the canal, the United States paid 
France the sum of forty million dollars for the 
work that had been done by De Lesseps. Work on 



The Panama Canai^ 345 

the canal was soon begun in the true American 
spirit. The Isthmian Canal Commission was au- 
thorized by Congress, and commissioners were ap- 
pointed by the president of the United States. To 
George Washington Goethals, the chief engineer, 
and his helpers, belongs the honor of accomplish- 
ing the greatest engineering undertaking that the 
world has known. A medal, made from the bronze 
dredges used ])y De Lesseps, has been given to each 
American who worked continuously for two years 
on the canal. The canal builders themselves se- 
lected the design for the medal. On one side of 
this is the head and shoulders of Theodore Roose- 
velt; on the other side is a picture of the finished 
canal with vessels making the long-sought, shorter 
voyage to India, and near the top is the motto: 
"The land divided — the world united." 



SUGGESTIONS 

Explain the advantage of the canal to the United States. 
Why are other countries interested in the canal ? 



SOMETHING TO REMEMBER 

The Panama canal made possible the long-sought, shorter 
route to India. 



23 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, 237. 

Adams, Samuel, 173. 

Alamo, 287-291. 

Alaska, purchase of, 327, 329. 

Anderson, Major Robert, 308. 

Appomattox Court House, 310. 

Armada, Spanish, 98. 

Articles of Confederation, 218, 219. 

Atlantic cable, 323-325. 

Austin, Stephen F., 287. 

Azores, 27. 

Bahama islands, 48. 
Barcelona, 31. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 241-245. 
^Bonhomme Richard, 210. 
Boston tea-party, 169-173. 
Braddock, Edward, 155. 
Bradford, Governor, 91. 
Brewster, Elder, 93. 
Buena Vista, 295. 
Burgoyne, British general, 209. 

Cabildo, 244, 246. 
Cabot, John, 40-43. 
Cabot, Sebastian, 42. 
Canal Zone, 344. 
Canary islands, 16. 
Cape Cod bay, 60. 
Carson, Kit, 294. 
Cartier, James, 54-58. 
Carver, John, 88, 91. 
Cavite, 334. 
Cerro Got do, 297. 



Cervera, Admiral, 335. 

Charles II, king of England, 110. 

Chesapeake bay, 60. 

Claiborne, Wm. C. C, 246-247. 

Clark, William, 252. 

Clermont, 279, 280. 

Columbus, Christopher, 5-39. 

Concord, 191-196. 

Confederate States of America, 305- 
307. 

Constitution, 265. 

Constitution, new form of govern- 
ment, 226. 

Constitution of the United States, 
220, 222-224. 

Continental Congress, First, 174. 

Continental Congress, Second, 198. 

Cornwallis, British general, 206, 
207, 212, 214. 

Cotton-gin, invention of, 277. 

Cristobal Colon, 335. 

"Croatan," 74. 

Cuba, 22, 39, 330, 332, 336. 

Dare, Virginia, 73, 74. 
"Daughters of Liberty," 170. 
Davis, Jefferson, 305-306. 
Dearbdrn, fort, 263. 
Dearborn, Henry, 262. 
Declaration of Independence, 

adopted, 203. 
Delaware bay, 60. 
Detroit, surrender of, 264. 
(347) 



348 



Index. 



Dewey, Commodore, 332, 333, 334. 
Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, 

147. 
Dorchester Heights, 202. 
Drake, Sir Francis, 72. 
Dutch East India Company, 59. 
Dutch in America, 98-106. 

Elizabeth, queen of England, 68, 75. 
Emancipation Proclamation, 308- 

311. 
"Embargo Act," 259. 

Fairfax, 144. 
Faneuil Hall, 170. 
F"erdinand and Isabella, king and 
queen of Spain, 10, 12, 13, 18, 35. 
Field, Cyrus W., 321-325. 
Fort Christiana, 103. 
Fort Duquesne, 155. 
Fort Necessity, 153, 1.54. 
Fort Orange, 100. 
Fort Sumter, 308. 
Fort Venango, 149. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 176-190. 
French and Indian war, 153-158. 
Fulton, Robert, 279, 280. 

Gage, General, 169-175, 192. 

Gama, Vasco da, 6. 

Gates, General, 209. 

Genoa, 5. 

Georgia, last of English colonies, 

116-118. 
Ghent, treaty of, 269. 
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 69. 
Gist, Christopher, 148, 149, 150, 

151. 
Goethals, George Washington, 345. 
Golden Hind, 69. 
Grant, Ulysses S., 317-320. 
Great Eastern, 324, 325. 



Great Meadows, 153. 
Grenville, Sir Richard, 
Guerriere, 265, 266. 



71. 



Haiti, 34, 39. 

Half-king, 146, 148, 149. 

Half -Moon, 59-61. 

Harvard University, 125. 

Hatteras, cape, 42. 

Hawaiian islands, 338-339. 

Heart's Content, 325. 

Henry VII, king of England, 41. 

Henry, Prince, 5, 6. 

Hesse, 204. 

Hochelaga, .56, 57. 

Home Life of Thirteen Colonies, 

120, 128. 
Houston, Samuel, 289-291. 
Howe, General, 202, 204. 
Hudson bay, 62. 
Hudson, Henry, 59-62. 
Hudson river, 61. 
Hudson strait, 62. 
Hull, General, 262, 264. 

Iberville, first French governor, 240. 

Inauguration of first president, 231. 

Independence Hall, 199. 

India, 1, 3. 

Indians, naming of, 21. 

Joliet and Marquette, 133-137. 

Jones, Paul, 210. 

Jackson, Andrew, 271-274. 

James I, king of England, 75, 77, 
86, 87. 

Jamestown, settlement of, 77. 

Jefferson, Thomas, author of Dec- 
laration of Independence, 236. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 235, 238. 

John II, king of Portugal, 8, 28. 



Index. 



349 



Kearney, Stephen W., 293. 
Key, Francis Scott, 268, 269. 

Lafayette, Marquis do, 210. 

Lane, Ralph, 7L 

La Rabida, 11. 

La Salle, Robert do, 138. 

Lawrence, 267. 

Lee, Robert E., 310, 312-315. 

Lesseps, de, 343. 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, 249- 

255. 
Lewis, Meriwether, 251. 
Lexington. 192, 193. 
Leyden, 86. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 300-304, 310, 

311. 
Livingston, Robert, 242-244. 
London Company, 77, 78, 81. 
Louisiana, admission of, 261. 
Louisiana, purchase of, 240-247. 

McHenry, fort, 268, 269. 

McLean, Alexander, 110. 

Madison, James, 259. 

Mame, 331. 

Manhattan, island of, 100, 101. 

Manila, 332, 333. 

Manteo, 70. 

Marion, Francis, 212. 

Mason and Dixon, 110. 

Massasoit, 94. 

Matthew, 41. 

Mayflower, 88, 90. 

Mexico City, capture of, 297. 

Mexico, war with, 292-298. 

Minuit, Petei, 100, 102. 

"Minutemen," 191. 

Mississippi river, 138, 139. 

Mississippi liver, discovery of, 52. 

Mississippi, valley of, 138, 1.39, 140. 

Missouri river, 135. 



Monroe, James, 242-245. 
Montcalm, 157, 1.58. 
Monticello, 237, 253. 
Moors, 10, 13. 

Morse, Samuel F. B., 282-286. 
Mount Vernon, 213-216. 

New England, colony of, 85-92. 
New England Courant, 179. 
Newfoundland, 59. 
New France, 58, 129-131. 
New Netherland, 99, 103. 
New World, discovery of, 20. 
New York, 106. 
Niagara, 267. 
NicoUs, Richard, 106. 
Nina, 15, 24, 31. 

North-west Territory, exploration 
of, 249-255. 

Oglethorpe, James, founder of 

Georgia, 116, 117, 118. 
Old North Church, 192. 
Old South Church, 172. 
Oliver, Andrew, 165, 166. 
Olympia, 333, 334. 

Palos, 10, 14, .30. 
Panama canal, 341-345. 
Panama, isthmus of, 38. 
Pasqua Florida, 48. 
Penn, William, 108-114. 
Pennsylvania Gazette, 184. 
Perry, Commodore, victory of, 266, 

267. 
Philadelphia, city of, 112. 
Philip, King, 94-96. 
Pilgrims, 86, 87, 88, 91. 
Pilgrims, landing of, 89. 
Pinta, 14, 18, 25, 27, 30. 
Pinzon, 14, 24, 30. 
Pitcairn, 194, 195. 



350 



Index. 



Pitt, William, 157, 166, 167. 
Plains of Abraham, 157. 
Plymouth Company, 77. 
Plymouth Rock, 89. 
Pocahontas, 83. 
Polo, Marco, 8, 21. 
Ponce de Leon, 47-48. 
Poor Richard's Almanac, 184. 
Portugal, 27. 
Portuguese, 5, 6, 18. 
Powhatan, 83. 
Puritans, 86. 

Quakers, 126. 

Quakers, a religious sect, 108, 109. 

Quebec, 157, 1.58. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 67-76. 
Revere, Paul, 192, 193. 
Revolution, 160-217. 
Roanoke, island, 70, 78. 
Rodgers, Commodore, 260. 
Rolfe, John, 84. 

Soto, de, Ferdinand, 50-53. 

San Diego, 295. 

San Domingo, 39. 

San Jacinto, 290. 

San Salvador, 20. 

Santa Anna, 289, 290, 296, 297. 

Santa Maria, 15. 

Savannah, city of, 117. 

Sault Sainte Marie, mission of, 130. 

Schley, W. S., 335. 

Scott, Winfield, 293, 296. 

Scrooby, town of England, 86. 

Separatists, 86. 

Serapis, 210, 211. 

Shafter, General, 335. 

Smith, John, 81, 84. 

"Sons of Liberty," 165. 

Speedwell, 88. 



V 



Squirrel, 69. 

St. Augustine, oldest town in United 

States, 65. 
St. John's river, 65. 
St . Lawrence river, discovery of, 54. 
Stamp Act, 163-168. 
Standish, Miles, 89. 
Steamboat, invention of, 279, 280. 
Stuyvesant, Peter, 101. 103, 104, 

105, 106. 

Taylor, Zachary, 292, 295, 297. 
Telegraph, invention of, 283, 284. 
Texas, admission of, 291. 
Thanksgiving, fiist observance of, 

91. 
Tories, 208. 
Travis, Colonel, 289. 
Trenton, 206. 

Ulloa, Don de, first Spanish gov- 
ernor, 241. 

Valley Forge, 208. 

Vera Cruz, 297. 

Vespucius, Amcricus, 40, 44-45. 

Wanchese, 70. 

War between the states, 300-320. 
War of 1812, 257-269. 
Washington, commander-in-chief, 

198-217. 
Washington, death of, 233. 
Washington, George, first president, 

226-233. 
Washington, Lawrence, 143. 
West India Company, 98, 102. 
West Indies, 21. 
White, Governor, 73. 
Whitney, Eli, 275-278. 
Wolfe, General, 156, 157, 158. 

Yale College, 126. 
Youghiogheny river, 148. 



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